Barcelona have taken their anger beyond the dugout and into UEFA’s inbox, lodging a formal complaint on Thursday over the referee in the 2-0 home defeat to Atletico Madrid in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final.
The row revolves around an incident early in the second half, when Barcelona called for a penalty after Atletico goalkeeper Juan Musso appeared to have put the ball back into play from a goal kick, before defender Marc Pubill handled it inside the six-yard box to take the ball again.
Referee Istvan Kovacs waved play on and the VAR team did not summon him to the monitor, prompting angry reactions from the Barcelona bench.
“Barcelona announces that the club’s legal services have today filed a complaint with UEFA regarding the events of the Champions League quarter-final against Atletico Madrid,” the club said in an official statement on Thursday.
«The complaint centers on a specific action. In the 54th minute of the match, after play had been properly restarted, an opponent picked up the ball in his area without incurring the corresponding penalty,» it added.
«Barcelona understands that this decision, together with a serious lack of intervention by VAR, represents a major error. Accordingly, the club has requested an investigation, access to referee communications and, where appropriate, official recognition of the errors and the adoption of the relevant measures.»
Interpretations of similar incidents varied. In the Champions League quarter-finals in April 2024, the referee did not award a penalty to Bayern Munich after Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhaes touched the ball after what appeared to be a restart from goalkeeper David Raya.
Later in 2024, VAR intervened to award Club Brugge a penalty in a similar altercation involving Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez and defender Tyrone Mings.
Published on April 10, 2026
