UEL 2022-23: Erik ten Hag, Marcus Rashford critical of referee after Manchester United's 2-2 draw to Barcelona
UEL 2022-23: Manchester United settled for a 2-2 draw to Barcelona away from home on Thursday in the opening leg. However, the former's boss, Erik ten Hag, and Marcus Rashford slammed the referee for his decisions.
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FollowEnglish giants Manchester United was up against Spanish giants Barcelona in the opening leg of the 2022-23 UEFA Europa League (UEL) at Camp Nou on Thursday. It was an entertaining tie, as both teams displayed a great brand of football and settled for a competitive 2-2 draw, with the second leg taking place at Old Trafford next week.
However, the tie saw some controversy regarding referring, as both sides had their share of confrontations with Italian referee Maurizio Mariani over some decisions, which the teams thought could have gone the other way or better. Meanwhile, the Red Devils head coach Erik ten Hag was critical of the Italian's decision-making abilities, especially after he yellow-carded him over a Marcus Rashford foul call.
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Talking to BT Sport, ten Hag cited, "I think the referee had a big influence on this game. It was a foul on Rashy. You can discuss if it was in or outside the box, but then, it is a red card because [Rashford] was one-on-one with the keeper. So, it's a big influence in this round, not just for this game. It can't be. Referees can't make such mistakes."
After ten Hag's verdict, Rashford said, "It's a massive moment in the game. I've not watched it back, but at the moment, I don't understand why the linesman thinks I'm going down there. I've touched it past him, and my foot's in front of the ball, [Kounde] hits my leg, and it's clear contact. It's not a penalty, but it's 100 per cent a foul for me."
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Nevertheless, both were delighted with the quality of the match, as ten Hag noted, "I think we dictated the game. Apart from maybe 15 minutes in the first half, we had some difficulties, but we dictated the game for the rest. We had so many chances, so I was disappointed at half-time. It was 0-0. We should have scored, and the opportunities they had we created by ourselves."
Analysing the game, Rashford revealed, "It feels like a loss. I think we did well to get back into the game. The first half was a bit in favour of them, but we stayed calm and composed and tried to create chances when we could. In the second half, we scored two goals in quick succession and felt in control of the outcome, but they're a good team with top players, and they got an equaliser."
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