Barcelona complain to UEFA over Champions League refs: Club claims errors caused loss to Atletico Madrid originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
For the first time in six years, the Champions League semifinals will be without both La Liga giants Barcelona and Real Madrid, as the two iconic Spanish clubs were eliminated earlier than anticipated.
Advertisement
While a flawed Madrid side fell to new favourites Bayern Munich in an impressive display of attacking acumen from the Bavarians, Barcelona were surprisingly downed by Atletico Madrid as they were beaten 3-2 on aggregate.
The Blaugrana were felled 2-0 in the first leg at home, leaving them with a multi-goal deficit to overturn on the road. Hansi Flick’s side managed a 2-1 victory at the Metropolitano, but were unable to get over the hump and do enough to reverse the aggregate scoreline.
A number of adverse refereeing decisions went against the Spanish giants in the two matches, including a red card to a Barcelona player in each game. The outcome has angered Barcelona hierarchy enough to force them into action, and the club has submitted an official complaint regarding the events across the 180 minutes.
Advertisement
The Sporting News discusses the action Barcelona have taken, how UEFA have responded, and what it is that Barcelona are upset about.
MORE:A look at the all-time Champions League top goal scorers
Barcelona complain to UEFA over Champions League referees
Following harsh words from president Joan Laporta in the immediate aftermath of the defeat, Barcelona have lodged an official complaint with FIFA over the officiating across both legs of their Champions League quarterfinal matchup against Atletico Madrid.
Advertisement
In an official club statement released on April 16, Barcelona claimed that refereeing crews led by veteran officials Istvan Kovacs (first leg) and Clement Turpin (second leg) significantly impacted the results of the matches.
“FC Barcelona has submitted a complaint to UEFA regarding the refereeing performance in the Champions League quarter-final tie played against Atletico Madrid,” the club revealed in its official statement.
“The club considers that, across both legs of the tie, several refereeing decisions were made that did not comply with the Laws of the Game, resulting from an incorrect application of the regulations and a lack of appropriate intervention by the VAR system in incidents of clear significance.
Advertisement
“According to FC Barcelona, the accumulation of these errors had a direct impact on the course of the matches and on the final outcome of the tie, causing significant sporting and financial harm to the club.
“Through this complaint, the Club reiterates the requests previously made to UEFA and, at the same time, offers to collaborate with the organisation with the aim of improving the refereeing system to ensure a more rigorous, fair and transparent application of the Laws of the Game.”
What refereeing decisions are Barcelona angry about?
There were a few key decisions across the two legs that Barcelona will be particularly furious with.
Advertisement
Pau Cubarsi red card
The biggest decision that went against Barcelona in the two Atletico Madrid matches was the 44th-minute red card to Pau Cubarsi in the first leg. It not only left Barcelona playing down a man for half of the first leg, but also left them without their best defender for the second leg due to suspension.
Cubarsi was sent off for denying a clear goal-scoring opportunity (DOGSO) when he fouled Giuliano Simeone, who was clean through on goal. While referee Istvan Kovacs initially produced a yellow card, VAR recommended a review for DOGSO, and Kovacs changed his decision to a red.
Advertisement
Kovacs initially believed the cross was behind Simeone enough that the foul did not necessarily prevent a chance on goal, but upon review, he changed his mind. In the end, Cubarsi has no one else to blame but himself here, and there’s little gripe Barcelona can have in this regard, even if they don’t believe the decision rose to a “clear and obvious error.”
Marc Pubill handball incident
In the first leg, Barcelona were extremely upset that Atletico Madrid defender Marc Pubill, who was in as a substitute to replace an injured David Hancko, was not sent off.
Advertisement
In the 54th minute, with Pubill already on a yellow card for a 45th-minute shove on Robert Lewandowski, Atletico Madrid had a goal kick after Fermin Lopez fired a shot wide. Goalkeeper Juan Musso appeared to kick the ball to Pubill to trigger the restart of play, but Pubill did not notice this happen, and bent down to stop the ball with his hand.
After the match, Giuliano Simeone explained that the goalkeeper is never the one to take goal kicks for Atleti, and therefore Musso was kicking the ball to Pubill so he could put the ball in play. Unsatisfied with the explanation, Barcelona submitted an official protest to UEFA over the incident, which the European governing body dismissed as “inadmissible.”
Advertisement
Eric Garcia red card
Just like in the first leg, a Barcelona defender was sent off in the second leg for a similar incident. 25-year-old captain Eric Garcia, who was deployed at centre-back while Ronald Araujo sat on the bench, was sent off for DOGSO after he fouled Alexander Sorloth.
And just like in the first leg, the initial on-field decision of yellow card was changed to red upon review. This time, Clement Turpin initially believed that Jules Kounde was close enough to cover the action, but on review decided Garcia was the last man and red was the correct call.
Advertisement
In the end, the judgement here is the same as Cubarsi’s dismissal. While Barcelona maybe could argue that VAR should not have intervened as there was enough to negate the “clear and obvious” threshold, in the end Garcia did enough to create doubt. Kounde was slightly behind Sorloth at the moment of the foul, and proximity to goal just outside the penalty area meant red was probably the right decision in the end, even if it’s not as blatant as some might wish for VAR to intervene.
Koke not sent off for second yellow
In the second leg, Barcelona were furious that Atletico Madrid captain Koke was not given his marching orders in the first half for a second bookable offence.
Advertisement
The 34-year-old was booked on the half-hour mark for arriving late to challenge a pass to Dani Olmo, tripping the Barcelona midfielder to the ground. Just eight minutes later, he was involved in another incident as he scythed Lamine Yamal down as well. While Barcelona players and fans believed it was worthy of a sending off, Clement Turpin did not oblige, and the Atleti midfielder behaved himself until being withdrawn with 30 minutes to go.
What has UEFA said?
At this point, UEFA has not responded to the complaint or Barcelona’s accusations.
Advertisement
The Sporting News has reached out to UEFA for comment, and will update this section if a response is received.
UEFA have already dismissed two prior complaints from Barcelona regarding this two-legged tie. They deemed the protest over the Marc Pubill handball incident to be “inadmissible,” while they received frustrations from Hansi Flick over the state of the Metropolitano pitch prior to the second leg, although no official complaint was reportedly filed over that.
How much money do Champions League semifinalists get?
The “significant financial impact” Barcelona claim to have lost by failing to reach the Champions League semifinals begins with the prize money UEFA hands out to the four clubs who reach that stage.
Advertisement
By beating Barcelona and qualifying for the semifinals, Atletico Madrid will have banked €15 million ($16.6m), with the potential to earn a further €25 million ($27.8m) or €18.5 million ($20.5m) by reaching the final, depending on their eventual outcome.
MORE:A full breakdown of the 2025/26 Champions League prize money purse
In addition to prize money lost, the elimination of both Barcelona and Real Madrid in the Champions League quarterfinals could significantly impact La Liga’s chances of securing a fifth qualifying spot in next year’s competition.
Advertisement
England have already mathematically confirmed one of the two extra places created in the new format of competition which are awarded based on the competitive achievements of two member nations across all UEFA competitions. That leaves just one other spot, with Spain currently chasing Germany for the place.
