Barcelona president confronts referees after El Clásico loss: report

In the first El Clásico of the 2022-2023 soccer season, Real Madrid was able to get the best of FC Barcelona, 3-1, thanks to goals from Karim Benzema, Federico Valverde and Rodrygo.

Real Madrid bounced back from a 4-0 loss to Barcelona last year and added to the club’s tough week. Barcelona played to a 3-3 draw against Inter Milan in their Group C matchup of the Champions League. Bayern Munich and Inter are the leaders in that group. Barcelona is three points behind Inter.

Barcelona president Joan Laporta confronted the officials after the match, according to ESPN. The Barcelona side had been upset with a late penalty that led to a Rodrygo goal. The penalty was called after a referee review, but officials didn’t review a potential Dani Carvajal foul on Robert Lewandowski.

“Once the game had ended and with the refereeing team back in the dressing room, Barca president Laporta came in repeatedly asking for an explanation on certain decisions made in the game,” according to a referee report. “Laporta was asked to abandon the dressing room without any further incidents occurring.”

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It was Barcelona’s first LaLiga loss of the season as Real Madrid stayed undefeated. The club is 8-1-0. It’s Madrid’s sixth win in the last seven “clásicos.”

Real Madrid leads Barcelona by three points with the win. Real Madrid has 25 points and Barcelona has 22. Atletico Madrid and Real Sociedad each have 19 points. Athletic Club has 17 points.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.