Hansi Flick and Frenkie de Jong voiced their frustration after a painful night at Real Sociedad
FC Barcelona left San Sebastián empty-handed on Sunday night after a 2–1 defeat to Real Sociedad, a result that felt harsh given the level of performance and reignited familiar anger over refereeing decisions.
For the second year in a row, Barcelona were beaten at the Reale Arena despite producing fluid, aggressive attacking football and missing some clear chances.
Once again, the spotlight fell on the officials rather than the football. Referee Jesús Gil Manzano was at the centre of the controversy, with his handling of stoppage time and his interaction with players drawing sharp criticism after the final whistle.
De Jong and Flick openly hit out at the officiating
After the match, Barcelona captain Frenkie de Jong did not hold back when assessing Manzano’s performance. The Dutch midfielder expressed frustration not just with individual decisions, but with what he felt was an unwillingness to communicate.
“With this referee, it’s very frustrating. You can’t talk to him, even though I’m the captain and I should be able to. He looks at you like, ‘I’m above you.’ You can’t contribute like that,” de Jong said.
“Then, in stoppage time, I warned him to watch the clock because every foul—it’s normal that they do it—every throw-in or goal kick was time-wasting. ‘They’re taking a minute to take it,’ I told him. He showed me the yellow card. And even so, he only added ten seconds. I think it’s crazy.”
Last season, VAR cancelled Lewandowski’s goal, saying he was offside, whereas it was actually Real Sociedad’s play boot that they showed as Lewy’s boot.
The inconsistency with VAR and the ref isn’t talked about enough pic.twitter.com/Sz1IS77xrK
— DesmundOris (@Desmund_Oris) January 19, 2026
Barcelona coach Hansi Flick echoed his captain’s frustration, though he chose to frame his criticism with a dose of irony.
Flick made it clear he agreed with de Jong’s assessment, but suggested there was little point dwelling on it.
“I agree with Frenkie, but I don’t want to waste energy on this guy,” Flick said. “I’m not on the field, but yes, I agree with what Frenkie said. I don’t want to waste energy on this guy, everyone has seen his performance.
“I’m not disappointed with the refereeing, because we all know that’s how it is. There are some very good referees in LaLiga, but we all know how it is. Frenkie is right, he’s always calm, he’s the captain and he wants to talk to the referee and he can’t. OK, we have to accept it, that’s how it is.”