Champions League: 3 explanations why Manchester United lost to Barcelona

#3 Unhelpful refereeing decisions

Referee Gianluca Rocchi did not have a great game either

This might sound ungainly, but Manchester United did suffer from a lot of terrible refereeing decisions on Wednesday. Referee Gianluca Rocchi allowed Barcelona's holding midfielder, Sergio Busquets, to play on after he had brought down Scott McTominay with his high challenge early on in the game.

He was booked later for another high challenge on Paul Pogba but escaped a second yellow card after another push on the Frenchman in the 38th minute.

To make matters worse, in the latter stages of the game, there was an appeal by United for a handball by Busquets off a United cross, which was turned down, and the Spaniard escaped lightly again.

If Busquets had been sent off, United would have had a clear advantage in terms of numbers. Also, if the handball against Barca had been given, the Red Devils would have had a penalty.

About the author

Mohul is a senior football, cricket and Olympic Sports writer at Sportskeeda, and has been in the organisation for more than 6 years. Some of his best work includes 118 exclusive interviews with famous sports personalities, insider talk and transfer speculations. He has also covered the entirety of the 2023-24 ISL season, Kalinga Super Cup and 2023-24 Pro Kabaddi League from the ground.

An MBA degree holder in Finance, Mohul is also a professional cricketer and is currently in the reserves for Hyderabad’s Ranji Trophy team. He’s also played league football in Hyderabad.

His football interest sparked after watching countless Rahim League matches at the Gymkhana and supporting the State Bank of Hyderabad. He grew up hearing stories about the legendary Syed Abdul Rahim and his incredible football team of the 1960s, which had a big influence on him. He has admired Manchester United’s dominance in English and European football as well.

Tennis star Leander Paes, Olympic gold-medalist Abhinav Bindra, cricketing legend Rahul Dravid and football star Chinglensana Singh are Mohul’s favorite athletes. He is a staunch Hyderabad FC supporter, and Sahil Tavora’s 88th-minute equalizer in the 2021-22 ISL Cup final against Kerala Blasters is one of his favorite footballing moments. Abhinav Bindra’s gold medal in shooting at the 2008 Olympics also had a huge impact on Mohul.

In his work, he strives to write relevant, accurate and unbiased stories by conducting thorough research. When not working, Mohul enjoys reading books and listening to heavy metal and rock music.

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Edited by Anthony Akatugba Jr.