Since the restart of LaLiga, there have been questions over the use of VAR as some at FC Barcelona, including club president Josep Maria Bartomeu, have accused off-field officials of being favourable to rivals Real Madrid.
However, former Brazilian and Blaugrana striker, Rivaldo believes that the Catalan giants cannot afford to blame refereeing decisions for their current position in the league, but should focus on rediscovering their form and fighting for the LaLiga title and the UEFA Champions League.
"Sometimes you have the right to feel upset about refereeing or VAR decisions, but I don't agree with Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu's claims that there is a bias towards Real Madrid," he said, as quoted by Marca.
"(Josep Maria) Bartomeu is simply trying to distract the media from his club's problems.
"Barcelona are still fighting for the LaLiga title and they're still in the (UEFA) Champions League, but this is not a good moment for the club.
"Bartomeu is trying to use stuff like VAR to justify himself to the fans and pretend that his club's difficulties aren't the fault of himself, the players or the manager.
"In my opinion, Barcelona's problem isn't VAR or any refereeing decisions.
"Their main problem is the quality of their football that needs to improve and become again that style of play that everybody loves to see around the world.
"The team was leading LaLiga before the lockdown and now is four points behind Real Madrid, so you can't say VAR is the main reason for that, especially when the team is not playing well.
"I expected a much better match performance from Quique Setien's team," 2002 FIFA World Cup winner added.
