In the wake of a heated European exit at the Metropolitano, Laporta did not hold back his anger regarding the decisions that went against Hansi Flick's side over the two legs. Speaking during a visit to the Trofeo Conde de Godo, the 63-year-old expressed his utter disbelief at how the tie was handled by the officials. Barca lost the first leg 2-0 at home, and a 2-1 win in the second wasn't enough to progress to the semi-finals, and their misery was compounded by a red card for Eric Garcia.
"First, I want to congratulate Atletico Madrid, but this doesn't change that the refereeing yesterday, both from the official and from the VAR, was a disgrace," said Laporta. "It's intolerable what they have done to us. In the first leg they already didn't give us a textbook penalty and they sent off a player when it was a yellow, because Giuliano [Simeone] didn't have the ball under control. The red card hurt us a lot."