Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone has told the media that the referee’s decision not to send off Gerard Martin during their 2-1 defeat against Barcelona was incorrect. Los Rojiblancos put in a stirring performance down to ten men, but eventually fell short due to a late Robert Lewandowski goal.
The flashpoint issue of the encounter was the rescinded red card for Gerard Martin following a VAR review. Simeone was convinced the Blaugrana defender should have been dismissed.
“They told me, and I saw the Betis-Rayo, and the CTA said it was a sending off. There’s not a lot to say, he gets there late, he steps on his full ankle. We’ll see if the CTA go back it. The thing is clear.”
“They haven’t been detrimental to me. They got it wrong. Just as managers do, players do. Did you see it or not [the Betis-Rayo]? Did you see it or not? Well it’s clear.”
Asked what he was discussing with the referee at half-time, Simeone revealed it was related to the decision to upgrade Nicolas Gonzalez’s second yellow to a red card.
“I said, what I said. I told the referee it was yellow, yellow, red. He said it was red, red.”
Despite falling to defeat, Atletico were impressive in the first half, putting Barcelona on the ropes for a period. In the second, they nearly held out for a point.
“We can speak about the two halves. The first half, we played very well. We created a lot of play, we ran very well. And then we found ourselves with the red that was a red. There are red cards that are red cards, and that was it. In the second half we had to defend, wecouldn’t attack as we would have liked. They got the goal, on a rebound.”
🇦🇷🔴⚪️ Juan Musso: "Gerard Martin should have been given the red card. Eleven against eleven we were the better side. We move on, and this match has given us confidence. I trust this team."
— Atletico Universe (@atletiuniverse) April 4, 2026
Asked if there was positivity over their performance despite the loss, Simeone was careful not to go over the top in his praise of the side.
“Losing isn’t positive. It’s true the work of the guys was very good. The first half was very, very good. The effort in the second half was enormous. The two debutants came on, and did very well considering the moment they came on in. Focusing on those positive things is useful, but losing isn’t positive.”
Simeone was also asked about the impact of Raphinha’s absence for the Champions League quarter-final, a player he has praised in the past.
“I’m not thinking about Raphinha, I’m thinking about the quarter-final, at their ground, thinking about the responsibility that the game brings. We have to play better than we did during the Copa del Rey semi-final there, where we couldn’t attack, we couldn’t generate play, we couldn’t do anything.”
With a number of Atletico players being rested, Simeone sent on academy products Taufik Seidu and Javi Morcillo for their debuts in the second half.
“It was a good moment for them to debut, they brought the necessary energy. And Lookman and the others rested, which was good.”
Los Colchoneros travel to Camp Nou on Wednesday night to face Barcelona in the first leg of their quarter-final. The return takes place the following week on the Tuesday at the Metropolitano.
