BARCELONA were forced to release a statement with thousands of fans left unable to watch Marcus Rashford’s debut.
The Man Utd loanee – who arrived at the Camp Nou earlier this week- was brought on as a half-time substitute, and then replaced 33 minutes later in his first match since the end of last season.
GettyRashford made his Barcelona debut on Sunday[/caption]
GettyEric Garcia celebrates scoring the opener in Barcelona’s game with Vissel Kobe[/caption]
GettyMarcus Rashford’s Barcelona debut lasted just 33 minutes[/caption]
The England man immediately showed promising signs, playing a sublime ball through to Robert Lewandowski, who teed up Roony Bardghji to score in the second half.
The match was being streamed for FREE on Barcelona‘s app, but the Catalan giants suffered a host of issues with the live broadcast.
Midway through the second half, they released a grovelling apology.
It said: “FC Barcelona’s streaming platforms received an attack of large proportions from various pages attempting to capture the live feed of the preseason game against Vissel Kobe.
“As a result of this avalanche of requests, the system engaged the pertinent security mechanisms which then affected the broadcast on the website and the Culers app.
“Straightaway, the decision was taken to offer the game free on the Clubs’ YouTube platform to guarantee the broadcast of the game.
“The Club apologies for the inconvenience caused and will be in contact with all those people affected.”
The match had initially been scrapped amid a row over a ‘serious breach of contract’ – but was later reinstated and went ahead as scheduled.
Ex-Man City star Eric Garcia opened the scoring with his first goal for the Catalan club midway through the first half, before Taisei Miyashiro levelled the scores just before half-time.
Bardghji restored Barca’s lead with 13 minutes remaining, before 17-year-old Pedro Fernandez – who replaced Rashford – sealed victory in the dying embers.
Rashford is in line for a reunion with former Man Utd pal Jesse Lingard on Thursday, with Barca set to face his FC Seoul at the 66,000-seater Seoul World Cup Stadium.
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