MADRID: Barcelona will face rivals Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey final after Ferran Torres secured them a 1-0 win at Atletico Madrid on Wednesday, progressing 5-4 on aggregate from the semifinal tie.
Record 31-time winners Barca had the better of the clash at the Metropolitano stadium after the wild 4-4 first leg draw, and defeat leaves Diego Simeone’s Atletico with little to play for in the rest of the season.
By contrast the Catalans are on the hunt for a potential quadruple and are unbeaten in 2025, stretching their run to 21 games without defeat.
Atletico were the last team to triumph against Barcelona, winning before Christmas to go top of La Liga, but they now trail Hansi Flick’s team by nine points with nine matches remaining.
“We can’t relax, we have to keep believing and working, with humility and I’m sure good things will come,” Torres told Movistar.
“If a final is already a huge motivation, imagine playing against your most direct rival.”
Madrid ousted Real Sociedad 5-4 on aggregate as well after a 4-4 draw on Tuesday at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Flick brought winger Raphinha back into Barcelona’s starting line-up and the hosts tried to shut him down through fair means or foul.
Cesar Azpilicueta was booked for one tackle, surviving a VAR review for a potential red card, while Rodrigo de Paul was also cautioned for going in hard on the Brazilian.
Teenage winger Lamine Yamal ran the show on the other flank for Barcelona, firing wide and teeing up Jules Kounde, who bypassed Robin Le Normand with some neat juggling before lashing over.
The 17-year-old played in Torres for Barcelona’s opener with a well-weighted pass, finished clinically by the former Manchester City forward, who has earned more minutes with his recent performances.
Yamal mishit a shot himself from a good position in the box, while Atletico goalkeeper Juan Musso denied Raphinha at his near post.
Simeone brought on Alexander Sorloth among three changes at the break, after he scored three goals in the three previous meetings between these sides this season.
Perhaps convinced he would make it four in four, Sorloth fired narrowly wide early in the second half with Antoine Griezmann open and ready for a simple finish.
At the other end, Raphinha forced another save from Musso but was himself guilty of not squaring for Fermin Lopez.
Sorloth rattled home what he thought for a few seconds was an equalizer, but he had strayed offside.
With Atletico ascendant, Flick brought on top goalscorer Robert Lewandowski for Torres, but the Polish veteran struggled to get involved.
With four minutes of stoppage time added on Atletico turned the screw, with Musso coming up for a late De Paul free-kick, but Barcelona held off the hosts to progress.
Atletico were dumped out of the Champions League on penalties by rivals Real Madrid in the last 16 and the Copa represented their most realistic chance of silverware this season.
“We have to thank the fans who supported us, we’re as sad as them,” said Atletico defender Jose Gimenez.
“We have to lift up our heads, finish the season in the best way possible and carry on.
“We have to accept the reality, with rational thinking and knowing we’re a long way off (the top of La Liga), but we’ll try until the end.”
Barca oust Atletico to set up Clasico Copa del Rey final
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Barca oust Atletico to set up Clasico Copa del Rey final
- By contrast the Catalans are on the hunt for a potential quadruple and are unbeaten in 2025, stretching their run to 21 games without defeat
Swiss politicians call for UEFA’s tax-exempt status to be revoked over stance on Israel
- ‘A double standard is unacceptable. While UEFA has rightly chosen to sanction Russian teams it has taken no action or measures against Israel to date,’ says one lawmaker
- Former UN human rights chief says Swiss authorities should know their international reputation as a leading proponent of humanitarian law is on trial
GENEVA: Swiss politicians on Wednesday argued that UEFA’s privileged tax status should be revoked until European football’s governing body ends what critics described as its complicity in the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands.
Local and national parliamentarians issued a statement calling for a vote on the issue, citing a Jul. 19, 2024, ruling by the International Court of Justice that found Israel was illegally occupying Palestinian land, including in the West Bank.
The lawmakers argue that since the Israeli Football Association, which fields teams that play on that occupied land, is a member of UEFA, the legal standing of the governing body and its associated tax advantages in Switzerland, where it has its headquarters, are in question.
They said that the tax relief granted to UEFA means that instead of benefiting from that revenue, Swiss citizens are effectively funding illegal activities of the Israeli Football Association.
“As an international federation, (UEFA) has long benefited, despite its significant commercial activity, from a tax exemption granted specifically because international sports federations play an important role in promoting peace and combating racism and discrimination,” they said in the statement.
“UEFA has long placed these concerns at the heart of its decisions. Its commitment to peace, for example, was among the motivations cited in support of sanctions adopted by the organization following Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. However, it is clear that this objective is not being pursued today.”
Raphael Mahaim, a member of the Swiss National Council, said: “UEFA enjoys preferential tax treatment in Switzerland. This comes with certain obligations, including promoting the values of peace.
“A double standard is unacceptable. While UEFA has rightly chosen to sanction Russian teams, it has taken no action or measures against Israel to date.”
Craig Mokhiber, an international human rights lawyer and former director of the UN’s human rights office in New York, said: “On Dec. 10 (International Human Rights Day) Swiss and cantonal authorities started the debate on the continuation of UEFA’s privileged tax status.
“That status should be revoked until UEFA ends its complicity in the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestinian land.”
Swiss authorities should know that their international reputation as a leading proponent of humanitarian law is itself on trial in this process, he added.
Theophile Schenker, a member of the Cantonal Parliament of Vaud, the canton in which UEFA’s headquarters is located, said: “UEFA must choose: either it genuinely acts to promote peace and can benefit from the advantages it offers, or it completely abandons this objective and its tax exemption.
“In the first case, it cannot remain passive when the IFA condones illegal and discriminatory practices, which are contrary to sporting values.”
Ashish Prashar, a former adviser to the Middle East Peace Envoy, and campaign director for the Game Over Israel pressure group, said: “UEFA is at the forefront of funding and normalizing the apartheid and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian territories, by continuing to provide a subsidy and allowing the IFA to be a member.
“This is money that could be going into the Swiss coffers; instead, the public is funding the illegal activities of the IFA.”
Prashar said that the simple solution for UEFA and its president, if they truly believe in international law, national law and the promotion of peace, would be to suspend Israel’s membership of the organization.
Abed Ayoub, national executive director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, said UEFA cannot claim to promote peace through football while shielding a country that fields five teams in occupied Palestinian territory, and is responsible for the genocide of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.
“For decades, Israel’s human rights abuses have been thoroughly documented, yet UEFA continues to carve out an exception that no other nation enjoys,” he said.
“The actions of a government always carry consequences for its citizens; that rule applies to every country except Israel. Enough is enough. UEFA must remove Israel from the league or accept the consequences of protecting impunity.
“In this dark moment in history, accountability is the only path forward.”
