An unprecedented event occurred in San Mamés, not because it never happened in Cathedral, but by the rival to whom the message was addressed. Halfway through the first part, the stands began to chant “A Segunda, oe!”, and the goal was Barcelona. Who could have thought of such a song to the leader of the competition, without real danger of relegation? But yes, the Negreira case raises blisters, and it is possible that the song will be repeated in the fields that the Barça team visits during the remainder of the championship.
0
Julen Agirrezabala, Daniel Vivian, Balenziaga (Yuri, min. 70), De Marcos (Capa, min. 83), Íñigo Martínez, Vesga (Oier Zarraga, min. 64), Raúl García (Muniain, min. 64), Nico Williams , Dani García, Berenguer (Guruzeta, min. 83) and Williams
1
Ter Stegen, Alex Balde, Sergi Roberto (Ansu Fati, min. 83), A. Christensen, Koundé, Busquets, Gavi (Ángel Alarcón, min. 94), Frenkie De Jong, Lewandowski, Raphinha (Marcos Alonso, min. 83) and Ferrán Torres (Kessié Franck, min. 67)
goals 0-1 min. 45: Raphine.
Referee Jesus Gil Manzano
yellow cards Williams (min. 29), Sergi Roberto (min. 75) and Oier Zarraga (min. 86)
That is the atmosphere, hotter than ever, that Barça found in San Mamés, which presented a great entry –49,741 spectators–, only 4,000 from the full house. Some partners failed, because both the visiting stands and the VIP ring saw a stop. The shady affairs within Barcelona were perceived as a grievance in the stands, which from the first minute questioned Gil Manzano’s decisions that favored the Barça team, did the referee have reasons or not for the decisions they made, of course when almost At the time limit, they warned him from the VAR for a possible handball by Muniain at the start of the play in which Iñaki Williams portrayed himself to the entire Barcelona defense, the scandal in the stands became huge.
The decibels shot up in San Mamés; The anger at the referee became epic and the shouts of “A Segunda!” intensified again, amid the fury of the stands, which, yes, were very careful not to throw objects onto the field or cause a more serious situation. After the ecstasy for the goal that was not by Williams, came the jug of cold water that only Barcelona fans celebrated, some of whom skipped the ban on Basque fields, where smoking is not allowed. “I respect the public at San Mamés, they have always treated me very well,” said Xavi Hernández, the Barça coach when asked about the public’s reaction. “It saddens me and surprises me that these things happen. Judging ahead of time is not good, ”said the coach.
He had to answer several questions to Xavi that had a tangential impact on the Negreira case, and surely there is no concern in the dressing room about what is said outside: “We have not talked about this. We are dedicated to playing soccer. The players are professionals and I am proud that all this does not affect them”, pointed out Xavi, who congratulated himself because the one in San Mamés, “is a victory of character”.
On the other side, Ernesto Valverde used his usual irony to relativize the controversial action. “How have we lived it? Bad, for the outcome ”. And he expressed his opinion on the use of technology: “It’s one of those things where we are turning these VAR things into which you have to review previous plays,” he said. “No one on the field has seen that situation. This is a mass spectacle that is a bit different from what football has been. It has happened to us and another day it will happen to others. It strays a bit from what football is.” And he elaborated: “VAR was invented for flagrant errors, for a goal that does not enter the goal or very clear penalties.” He wasn’t happy.
You can follow EL PAÍS Sports on Facebook and Twitteror sign up here to receive our weekly newsletter.
