Rafa Yuste, Barcelona’s interim president, has criticised the performance of Romanian referee Estefán Kovács, who officiated Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final first leg at the Camp Nou.
The first-leg Champions League quarter-final at the Camp Nou ended 2–0 in Atlético’s favour, but not before controversy swirled around several key decisions.
Barcelona felt aggrieved in the 54th minute when Atlético goalkeeper Juan Musso played the ball from a goal kick to defender Marc Poblet, who was standing inside the six-yard box; the defender then handled the ball before continuing the play, much to the astonishment of onlookers.
Kovacs ignored the appeal, sparking widespread controversy and anger among the Catalan club’s supporters.
Speaking at a La Liga event today, Yuste reiterated his criticism of the officiating.
He condemned the failure to award a penalty for Bobel’s handball and confirmed that the club is drafting an official protest.
Speaking to Spanish newspaper Marca, he said: “With all the technical tools at our disposal, including VAR, I fail to see why a clear penalty was not given against Atlético Madrid. With due respect, the incident was obvious, regardless of whether it was intentional or not.”
“I won’t dwell on the officiating,” he added. “The decisive second leg is still to come, and we fully believe in our ability to stage a comeback.”
“We now have a very important match against Espanyol, and as president, I don’t want anything to distract the club, the players and the coaching staff from the focus required for this match.”
He concluded: “We at the club are considering issuing a statement. We cannot forget—as memories are sometimes short—that something similar happened to us in the Cup at Atlético Madrid’s ground. We must condemn this; otherwise, there will be no improvement. We all make mistakes, but this happens far too often, and we cannot overlook it.”
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