The referees drive a team in freefall crazy: the immediate aftermath of Girona-Barça

GironaBarça, in freefall, is no longer the leader of the League and suffers another defeat (2-1) right after the tough defeat in the Cup.

The reinforcement Hansi Flick needs most. With Raphinha, but without Pedri. The Brazilian's return, which started strong but faded during his 60 minutes on the pitch, wasn't enough. Barça, already reeling from Thursday's disastrous performance at Montilivi, continue to sorely miss the Canary Islander's football. Neither Lamine Yamal nor anyone else could pull the Blaugrana out of the mire against a resurgent Girona side that was the better team, only kept in the game by the saves of a saint named Joan Garcia. Hansi Flick is sorely missing Pedri, who is still out for a couple of weeks. What the team also desperately needs, though that's a topic for the election campaign, is a reliable center forward.

From robbery to robbery. It's as true that Barça can't use the referees as an excuse for their recent defeats as it is that the performances of Martínez Munuera and Soto Grado have, quite rightly, infuriated the entire Barça fanbase. Against Girona, the home side's second goal should have been disallowed for a clear stamp on Koundé. Echeverri fouled him, taking the ball from Beltrán, who then converted it into the winning goal for Girona, while Koundé, on the ground, was unable to defend. Perhaps the obvious stamp wasn't enough for VAR, led by David Gálvez. Meanwhile, Real Madrid had two goals awarded to them. penalty kicks Saturday...

Montilivi, full. Football is and always will be a matter of passion, an expression of feelings and belonging, despite its radical perversion into a seemingly unstoppable business spiral. Girona fans have often been accused of being biased when playing against Barça. This is mainly because many of their supporters also sympathize with the Catalan club, given that, until Girona's recent history, they weren't a team accustomed to playing in the top flight. Girona has been writing the most glorious chapters of its history in recent years, expanding its fanbase. With Montilivi packed, and needing points to avoid the specter of relegation, the stadium vibrated with excitement for Míchel's team. 14,043 fans filled the stands.

Barça and Correllengua. A few days after this newspaper published that Barça has erased the name of former president Josep Sunyol from the box Executed by the Franco regime in 1936 – he had been listed as Josep Suñol since 2015, despite signing club minutes with the letter 'enya' – to be renamed 'Llotja Presidencial Spotify' (Spotify Presidential Box), this Monday the Correllengua Agermanat platform announced that Barça would join the initiative, which is touring Catalan-speaking territories. Camp Nou will be the starting point for the stage on Wednesday, April 22. All of us who feel a Catalan connection to Barça celebrate the initiative, while at the same time we are saddened that the club has renamed the box. The club denies that it is due to a commercial agreement with Spotify and attributes it to the fact that the stadium is unfinished.