Mallorca boss Jagoba Arrasate voiced his disappointment after his side’s 3–0 home defeat to Barcelona, lamenting the difficulty of playing with nine men and questioning the refereeing decisions that shaped the contest.
“With nine players, it’s impossible. There was no game. Those who paid over a hundred euros only saw 25 minutes,” Arrasate said, stressing how the early dismissals left his team with little chance to compete.
Despite the setback, he highlighted Mallorca’s determination after the break: “We take away the team’s work. At 0-1 we were able to equalize and lay the first stone, and if the crowd supports us, we can achieve important things… I take away the reaction of the team and the crowd in the second half.”
Arrasate was also frustrated by the handling of controversial moments, particularly the sequence leading to Barcelona’s second goal: “I think we all saw it. Last week we were told that if there’s a head injury, the game stops. The fourth official told him to stop because it was a head blow. He takes the whistle, we all thought he had blown it, and to everyone’s surprise, he gives a goal; I don’t understand it.”
He further criticized the decisions behind his players’ dismissals: “Morlanes got a yellow for protesting the second goal, then a second yellow very harshly. And Muriqi’s red – he accidentally hits the goalkeeper in the face, and the referee gives a yellow, but VAR had warned him. It’s a shame because the match lasted only twenty-something minutes.”
On the broader issue of consistency, Arrasate added: “We complain about the criteria, which isn’t consistent. It irritates you, angers you, and at halftime, with nine players and 0-2, we were very heated. We had to calm ourselves and bring in fresh players. We made three substitutions that gave us a boost, which the fans appreciated. The only shame is the last goal, which makes the scoreline look worse.”