Erik ten Hag says he has been left baffled by the referee’s decision making during Manchester United’s draw at Barcelona on Thursday evening.
In the first leg of their Europa League play-off, United drew 2-2 at the Camp Nou in what was a thrilling match.
While a decent result for the Red Devils, Ten Hag and Marcus Rashford were furious after full-time after the referees failed to punish Jules Kounde for a clear foul on the forward.
With the score at 2-1, Rashford broke free of Barcelona’s defence but as he closed in on goal Kounde fouled him from behind with the England star instantly appealing for a penalty.
But the referee waved for play to continue and while replays showed that the incident occurred just outside the box, many could simply not believe that a free-kick hadn’t been given.
Ten Hag, who was booked during the game for arguing with the offcials, went one step further, telling BT Sport that Kounde should have seen red for the professional foul.
And he doubled down on these comments in his post-match press conference, saying: ‘If I may make a point that has a big influence not only on this game but on this round, at 2-1, it was a clear foul on Marcus Rashford.
‘We can discuss if it’s inside the box or outside the box, but definitely it’s a red card.
‘Yes, I asked the referee why. So he said it was outside the box and it was no foul. And the linesman and referee were in a very good position to see and I think we had VAR.
‘I think it’s not good, it was a really bad decision. I can’t understand. Maybe they were impressed by the pressure Barca made but they can’t be [like that at] the highest European level.’
It wasn’t the only controversial decision of the night, as United escaped conceding a late penalty when Fred handled an effort from Sergi Roberto, a decision that left Barcelona boss Xavi furious.
‘I heard it was a ball on the hand, so maybe two mistakes,’ Ten Hag added.
‘But you can’t equalise such mistakes because the moment in the game, in the whole round, was an important decision where he was wrong.’
