17th April 2026
April 17 – FC Barcelona has filed a second complaint to UEFA over the refereeing in their Champions League quarter-final exit to La Liga rivals, Atlético Madrid. Atléti won the tie 3-2 on aggregate and now face Arsenal in the semi-final.
The Spanish champions say officiating errors across both legs caused “significant sporting and financial harm to the club.”
“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,” Barca said in a statement. “The accumulation of these errors had a direct impact on the course of the matches and on the final outcome of the tie.”
Barca had already lodged a complaint after the first leg, arguing Atlético defender Marc Pubill should have conceded a penalty and been sent off for handling the ball after goalkeeper Juan Musso appeared to restart play. UEFA threw it out as “inadmissible” earlier this week.
President Joan Laporta, ran through the grievances after Tuesday’s exit. Red cards for Pau Cubarsí in the first leg and Eric García in the second should have been yellows, he said. Dani Olmo should have had a penalty. Ferran Torres’ ruled-out goal was onside. And Musso’s boot to Fermín López’s face should have drawn action.
“The refereeing was a disgrace,” Laporta told reporters. “We filed a complaint after the first leg and UEFA said it was ‘inadmissible.’ We will ask for further explanations. The club will also make another complaint because what’s inadmissible is what happened to us on Tuesday once again.”
A fair question for Laporta, though. How many decisions went Barcelona’s way at Stamford Bridge in May 2009, when Tom Henning Ovrebo waved away four clear penalty shouts and Andrés Iniesta struck in the 93rd minute to send Barca through on away goals?
Chelsea fans are still talking about it. Barcelona won the treble that season.
Call it karma? UEFA did.
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