Barcelona's problem isn't VAR bias towards Real Madrid but quality of their football, says Rivaldo

Barcelona legend Rivaldo has criticised his former club for complaints about VAR and accusations of referee bias favouring rivals Real Madrid in LaLiga.

After last Sunday's 4-1 win at Villarreal, Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu gave a television interview in which he claimed that VAR 'always favours one team', following a series of calls he believes went Los Blancos' way.

But Rivaldo believes the Catalan giants should be looking closer to home at their own problems before concentrating on their title rivals.

"Sometimes you have the right to feel upset about refereeing or VAR decisions, but I do not agree with Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu's claims that there is a bias towards Madrid," Rivaldo told Betfair.

"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 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."

The former Brazil attacker went on to explain where the Catalans' real issues lie.

"In my opinion, Barca's problem isn't VAR or any refereeing decisions," he said.

"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 Madrid, so you can't say VAR is the main reason for that, especially when the team is not playing well."