How to respectfully call Gil Manzano a "pot-bottom"
Barça authorizes players to speak about refereeing attitudes as long as it is without crossing red lines
BarcelonaGerard Piqué's last action as a footballer wasn't on the pitch. He was a substitute against Osasuna, and after a first half Gil Manzano's highly debatableThe former Barcelona center-back approached the referee with a defiant look. The referee initially ignored him, so Piqué followed him into the locker room, where cameras clearly captured what he said: "You're the referee who's screwed us over the most. Always!" Obviously, he was sent off immediately. But Piqué's words had an effect. On that November 9, 2022, Barça would end up coming back in the second half thanks, in part, to a change in the referee's interpretation of the game. GilmanThe same referee from Sunday's match at Anoeta.
Piqué's attitude, much applauded by the most visceral Barcelona fans, reopened an internal debate at the club. It was a heated moment during a match, one of many. But how far could it go? In the subsequent statements, for example. The response was emphatic: don't talk about the referee. "At 200 beats per minute you can say things as loud as a bell tower, but you have to know when to stop," the previous communications team always warned. Guidelines that, however, coach Xavi Hernández or president Joan Laporta sometimes ignored.
Until now, Flick had had some angry reactions on the bench – two expulsions in two years – but had restrained himself in the press rooms. At Anoeta, after losing 2-1 with controversial refereeing, he said that he didn't want to "waste energy talking about that guy" –"waste energy talking about this guy"—although he ended up doing it. GilmanHe said he "already knew him" because he "had read comments before the match." Regarding the performance of Carlos del Cerro Grande, who was in the VAR booth—the same official who last year disallowed a Lewandowski goal for a dubious offside—he said in Spanish, and ironically, that he had done "very well." "Good job," he added, accompanied by applause. After that, the Barcelona press officer brought the coach's press conference to a close.
A few minutes earlier, on the pitch, a Frenkie de Jong, resigned to defeat, complained about Gil Manzano's arrogant tone. "I'm the captain and I can't talk to the referee. He looks at you like he's above you. It's frustrating, he can't behave like that." Seeing him so worked up, the press officer accompanying him asked him to calm down. But the midfielder, hurt, insisted on continuing to speak, claiming he was giving his opinion "respectfully."
"You can criticize the attitude, not the referee's decisions."
This nuance, respect, is what has changed at Barça in recent months. "Of course, everyone can express themselves. We don't forbid anyone from doing anything. As long as an opinion is expressed calmly and respectfully, which is what De Jong and Flick did at the end of the match," sources from the offices maintain. "They didn't criticize any refereeing decision. They criticized the attitude, and they have the right to do that."
It's a small concession in the locker room. "They can explain what they encountered on the pitch. The policy is to be prudent and measured," they add to the club. It's a subjective and very fine line, but one that, in the eyes of Barça, no one crossed at Anoeta, even though behind the scenes they believe that both the on-field referee and the VAR official's performance ultimately harmed the team.
These are not good days for Gil Manzano, a referee who seemed destined for greatness, but who has fallen from grace, to the point of to be ruled out by FIFA for the World Cup This summer, Barça doesn't have fond memories of him. Of the 45 matches, nine have ended in defeat, more than any other referee in the 21st century. He has also officiated eight draws and sent off eleven Barcelona players, seven of them with straight red cards.