Complaining about the referees is pointless >> Read My Mind

Pique: ‘At half-time I told the referee it was a penalty on Keita and he kept that in his head, I have a feeling of premeditation’

Pique: ‘The foul wasn’t worth a red card, but there’s one referee and he makes the decisions’

Guardiola: ‘I wouldn’t be a manager if I thought the officials make premeditated mistakes and come into a match to hurt us. Things happen, we need to get over them. We need to overcome these challenges – which seem to be new, but have happened in the past too. We need to do our job’

Guardiola: ‘We are not 10 points behind Madrid because of the refs, but I want to make clear that being that far is not only our responsibility. We haven’t been that bad. Real Madrid seems unstoppable’

– There is a very interesting point that I haven’t mentioned in this blog before. I am aware that most Cule fans around the world access Barça news via the official website, but don’t be fooled: They don’t always share all the information and sometimes ‘conveniently ignore’ player quotes. In other words, they select what to publish. For example, I haven’t been able to find the above quotes today.

Why am I saying this? Well, it’s clear the official FC Barcelona stand on this matter is leaving the referees alone and don’t criticise them. The problem is that the issue is so obvious that our players and coach don’t know how to hide their frustration any more. Against Sporting, you could see Pep heavily protesting to the ref on the pitch (even getting booked), but not in the press conference. Strange…

Let’s get it straight: There were 3 clear penalties against Sporting (on Alves, on Keita and a clear handball). Pique was sent off for a very mild foul seconds after halftime, a few minutes after The Catalan Giant complained about the ref’s first half show. Another point: Yesterday’s official is the same guy who ignored two clear penalties on Messi at Valencia. Coincidence? I will let you decide on that one…

Last weekend, Sergio Ramos elbowed a Rayo player a mere 2 metres away from the ref and got away with it. In the same match, Pepe The Psycho stayed on the pitch despite yet another Kung Fu tackle (See videos below)

Yes, I have previously written that blaming the referees for our own mistakes is a bad excuse. I have also more recently argued that Real Madrid and the Spanish RFEF seem to be determined to achieve a Liga for Los Blancos this season. I obviously stand by my words, but evidence is such that I am increasingly frustrated about the whole topic.

Still, I honestly feel complaining about the referee’s decisions wouldn’t change anything unless we start doing it Mourinho-style (who, let’s face it, is the MWU – Master Whiner of the Universe). But do I really want to see Guardiola attacking Madrid’s coach or blaming others for our bad results? Of course NOT, Barça deserves better than that. Mes Que Un Club, remember?

True, these are tough times for FCB in Spanish football. It feels like the powers above don’t want us to win anymore and are trying as hard as possible to achieve their goal. But our team just needs to focus on playing football and winning matches – However hard it is to keep their minds off the ‘extra’ help others are getting.

I WOULD RATHER LOSE LA LIGA THAN BEHAVE LIKE MADRID’S WHINERS. MEN TALK ON THE PITCH, JUST KEEP WINNING!!!!!!!

ARE CULES RIGHT TO CRITICISE THE REFEREES? Please leave a comment below…