Romanian referee Stefan Kovac sparked major controversy during Barcelona’s Champions League quarter-final first leg against Atlético Madrid.
Barcelona subsequently lodged an official complaint with UEFA, citing both the missed penalty—after a handball by Pobel—and the sending-off of Pau Cubarsi, as the Blaugrana ultimately lost 2-0.
Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo quoted refereeing expert Isaac Futo on the programme El Partidazo de Cope.
Futo stated, “Kovac will be suspended and will not referee any further Champions League matches.”
He added that the suspension was not triggered by the penalty controversy, but by the official’s failure to dismiss Cubarsi immediately.
Uefa considers the second incident more serious because Kovac initially gave the Barcelona defender only a yellow card, then reviewed the VAR warning before finally sending him off.
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