La Liga, Barcelona, Hans-Dieter Flick
[Saba Sports News] According to Spanish media reports, Barcelona is dissatisfied with how current assistant referees handle offside calls, particularly their tendency to let play continue despite clear offside. Reports indicate that this season, under coach Hans-Dieter Flick, Barcelona has caused opponents to be offside 108 times, with 14 goals ruled out by VAR. The team employs a high defensive line strategy, with defenders typically operating 40-50 meters from the goal; while effective, it also presents challenges. After the introduction of VAR, assistant referees were instructed to let play continue when in doubt. However, Barcelona believes many assistant referees overly rely on VAR and fail to signal promptly even in clear offside situations, forcing defenders to frequently sprint back over 30 meters and causing unnecessary physical strain. At least two similar situations occurred in the match against Red Star Belgrade. In response, coach Flick expressed mild dissatisfaction after the match but ultimately chose to avoid direct comments on the refereeing topic.