FC Barcelona ended an 11-game winning streak across all competitions on Sunday at Anoeta. In a controversial match, the Blaugrana fell to Real Sociedad (2-1) due to bad luck with the woodwork and at least three controversial refereeing decisions in favor of the San Sebastian team.
At the end of the match, Frenkie de Jong spoke with 'DAZN' about Barça's performance and the main referee, Jesús Gil Manzano. Although the Catalan midfielder was self-critical about his team's downfall, he also 'slammed' the referee from Extremadura, beyond his decisions, for the attitude he showed during the 90 minutes.
"In the end, if it's offside, it's offside. There's no other way. I haven't seen it. They told us it wasn't. Then I discussed it with the fourth official," Frenkie began saying about Barça's three disallowed goals, two of them via VAR.
De Jong explodes against Gil Manzano: "it's frustrating"
In that regard, De Jong, Barça's captain at Anoeta, harshly criticized Gil Manzano's attitude. According to current protocol, **only the captains can speak with the referee**, but the referee from Extremadura avoided any communication throughout the match on Sunday
"Last year something exactly the same happened here. What I do want to say is that you can't even talk to the referee. I'm the captain and I don't understand it. He looks at me with a face like 'I'm better than you'. It's frustrating. He can't behave like that"
In the 24/25 season, Barcelona also lost at Anoeta (1-0) on a matchday affected by a disallowed goal by Robert Lewandowski. This season, Fermín López and Lamine Yamal were also unable to celebrate two goals, which were initially legal, but were invalidated 'thanks' to VAR intervention.
The one from Huelva, due to a previous foul by Dani Olmo on Take Kubo. The '10's goal, due to a millimeter offside, where the heel of his right foot was on the offside line. **Mikel Oyarzabal**, for his part, scored the partial 1-0 in an action preceded by an unsanctioned foul by **Jon Aramburu** on Olmo.
Frenkie de Jong, self-critical despite the controversies at Anoeta
However, Frenkie de Jong, while understanding that Barça "didn't deserve to lose," also lamented the team's bad luck and lack of accuracy in capitalizing on the chances created. **The Catalans took 22 shots, 8 of them on target, but 5 shots hit the post** and another 8 were saved by Álex Remiro.
"We've missed many chances. That's the most disappointing thing. We've played well, the only thing is we haven't won. We lacked the ability to convert our chances. Their goalkeeper had a very good game," argued the Barça midfielder. Finally, regarding Gil Manzano's performance, he added:
"At the end of the match, in added time, I'm telling him to watch the clock. They take a minute to take a goal kick... it's normal for them to do that. And he didn't even add ten more seconds. I think it's crazy. I told him that and he gave me a card"