Barcelona’s Flick calls for refs to be respected after fallout of Bellingham red card
Barcelona’s Flick calls for refs to be respected after fallout of Bellingham red card
Barcelona’s head coach Hansi Flick gestures during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Barcelona and Alaves at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday Feb. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)
Barcelona’s head coach Hansi Flick sits on the bench before the start of a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Sevilla and FC Barcelona at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium in Seville, Spain, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Breton)
Barcelona’s head coach Hansi Flick gestures during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Barcelona and Alaves at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday Feb. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)
Barcelona’s head coach Hansi Flick gestures during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Barcelona and Alaves at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday Feb. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)
Barcelona’s head coach Hansi Flick sits on the bench before the start of a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Sevilla and FC Barcelona at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium in Seville, Spain, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Breton)
Barcelona’s head coach Hansi Flick sits on the bench before the start of a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Sevilla and FC Barcelona at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium in Seville, Spain, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Breton)
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Barcelona coach Hansi Flick made an impassioned call for better treatment of Spain’s referees following a week of criticism and scrutiny of an official who sent off Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham for having cursed at him.
Flick told reporters Friday that “what they are doing to (referees) in Spain, it is unbelievable.”
The German coach, who is in his first season in La Liga, did not directly mention the case of referee José Luis Munuera who has been at the center of Spanish sports talk since he red carded Bellingham last weekend.
But his comments came after Munuera denounced what he called a false accusation by local media that has led to him being temporarily sidelined by the Spanish soccer federation. Some media outlets reported that he had improper business relations with “officials” in the Spanish league related to him giving motivational talks on sports values. Munuera denied that accusation, saying he had never been paid by a sports club or federation for his talks.
The Spanish soccer federation has cleared Munuera of any suspicion of conflict of interest after it analyzed the case, presumably clearing the way for him to continue working games.
Munuera had drawn criticism from Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti and Bellingham himself, who said he had “misunderstood” when the England midfielder used an English expletive to protest one of his decisions. With 10 men, Madrid drew at Osasuna and subsequently lost the league lead to Barcelona.
The federation came to the referee’s defense with a statement denouncing on-line abuse directed at Munuera after the Bellingham red card.
The Bellingham incident came after Madrid had already sent a letter to the federation claiming that the record 36-time champion was being routinely harmed by refereeing decisions. It said “decisions against Real Madrid have reached a point that the adulteration and manipulation of the competition cannot be ignored.”
The federation unveiled a public awareness campaign on Friday to encourage better treatment of referees. Signs saying “Respect the referee, respect soccer” will be on display at stadiums for first-and second-division games this weekend.
Flick, meanwhile, used his pre-match press conference ahead of Barcelona’s game at Las Palmas on Saturday to speak about the pressure faced by referees. His comments were unsolicited by the media.
“We have to trust (referees) and I think the federation has to show how strong (it) is,” he said. “They are human and it is normal that you make mistakes, and every coach and player makes mistakes, and we have to take care of them.”
Flick was sent off himself for protesting a penalty decision in a draw with Real Betis in December. He refused to comment again on that two months later.
“I think we always look for excuses, if we lose we look at the referee and say it is his fault,” Flick said. “But everyone makes mistakes, me, you and maybe a referee, but at the end we have to protect them because we can’t play without referees.”
Barcelona will be out to avenge a rare loss to Las Palmas at home in November.
Madrid out to end skid
Madrid will be without the suspended Bellingham when it hosts Girona on Sunday aiming to end a run of three straight league games without a win. It is in second place, trailing Barcelona on goal difference.
But it will have a red-hot Kylian Mbappé available after he scored a hat trick to help eliminate Manchester City from the Champions League knockout rounds playoffs.
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