After coming on the back of a 4-0 defeat at the hands of Atletico Madrid in the Copa Del Rey, Barcelona’s woes were compounded further after they lost to Girona 2-1.
It was a devastating loss that saw Barça relinquish their lead to Real Madrid at the top of the league.
And with back-to-back losses, the alarm bells have already started ringing at Barcelona, especially considering the kind of form they were showing since the turn of the year.
Raphinha speaks out after Girona defeat
In the wake of their defeat to Girona, one of the club captains, Raphinha, has sent a message to fans.
The Brazilian started by acknowledging the problem that Barcelona are facing and called for a resolution. “Well, we have a lot of things to improve, but not just us,” he wrote in an Instagram post.
What followed afterwards can be viewed as a direct dig at Spanish football, having been heavily criticised for maintaining a poor quality of referees.
Heading into this game, Barcelona had already filed an official complaint against the referee, arguing that it was impacting both men’s and women’s teams’ prospects.
Raphinha echoed a similar sentiment, as he pointed out certain differences in the way referees deal with one team.
“It’s very complicated when the rules are different depending on whether they’re in your favour or against you, but if we have to play against everyone to win, no problem… We’re going to do it,” he added.
Raphinha’s message seems to suggest that there is a clear favouritism towards Real Madrid when it comes to La Liga referees and the entire ecosystem.
It is an important message coming from one of the captains of one of Spain’s top two biggest teams.