In a key match at Da Luz, Pau Cubarsí was sent off in the 20th minute for a tackle that left Barça with one less player. The controversial action had several factors behind it, and Cubarsí didn't hesitate to point to another player as responsible for his expulsion.
The Action That Changed the Course
It all started with a contested ball in which Cubarsí tried to stop Pavlidis. The Barça center-back, who was the last man, committed a tackle that, at first glance, seemed dangerous. The referee, Felix Swayer, hesitated for a few seconds before showing the red card, but finally did, leaving Barça with one less player.
At that moment, Cubarsí gestured that he had touched the ball before bringing down Pavlidis. And he wasn't lying: when making the tackle with his shin, he touched the ball, but his tackle took down the Greek forward. Despite this, VAR intervened, reviewed the play, and after a detailed analysis, decided to uphold the red card.
Frenkie de Jong, Indirectly Responsible?
Pau Cubarsí, visibly frustrated, didn't stay silent. Upon leaving the field, he made it clear that the blame wasn't entirely his. According to his version, the expulsion was due to a prior factor: Frenkie de Jong's behavior.
The Dutch midfielder, according to Cubarsí, was the one who initiated the play by not contesting the ball with enough intensity in a previous jump. De Jong, instead of following the play, stayed protesting, which left the ball dangerously contested.
Cubarsí, in trying to recover it, committed the foul on Pavlidis and ultimately earned the red card. In Cubarsí's words: "Everything happened because of Frenkie's lack of reaction. If he had followed through, this play wouldn't have happened."
Was There a Foul on De Jong?
VAR also intervened in this play. In the replay, there was no clear foul on De Jong, so the referee upheld Cubarsí's expulsion. However, De Jong's frustration at not receiving the foul was evident, and at that moment, it became a key element that affected the development of the play.
Some critics said that De Jong wasn't aggressive enough, which quickly threw the game off balance. Others, however, believe that Cubarsí's responsibility was total, as he should have been more careful with such tackles. The truth is that Barça's team was left with ten players and had to deal with the numerical disadvantage for the rest of the match.