Barcelona Escalate VAR Protest to UEFA After Champions League Exit

Barcelona challenge refereeing in Atletico loss, cite sporting and financial harm

Barcelona have filed a second complaint to UEFA over refereeing in their 3-2 aggregate Champions League loss to Atletico Madrid. The club cited a handball by Marc Pubill, two unreviewed penalty shouts, and red cards for Cubarsí and García as errors that caused “significant sporting and financial harm.”

 

Barcelona refile UEFA complaint over handball call in Atletico Madrid tie. Barcelona say VAR failures cost them UCL tie, demand rule changes...

Barcelona lodged a fresh complaint with UEFA on Thursday after their protest regarding a handball incident in the Champions League quarter-final first-leg loss to Atletico Madrid was rejected this week.

In a statement, the Spanish club said several refereeing calls across both legs of the tie, which Atletico won 3-2 on aggregate, “did not comply with the Laws of the Game, stemming from incorrect application of the regulations and insufficient VAR intervention in incidents of clear importance.”

The Catalan side, who ended both legs with 10 men following red cards for Pau Cubarsí and Eric Garcia, believe several disputed calls went against them, including two possible penalties where VAR did not intervene.

ℹ️ 𝗙𝗖 𝗕𝗔𝗥𝗖𝗘𝗟𝗢𝗡𝗔 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧 https://t.co/75uxPVRxUN

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) April 16, 2026

“The build-up of these errors directly affected how both matches played out and the final result of the tie, causing major sporting and financial damage to the club,” the reigning Spanish champions added.

Barcelona said the club “reiterates the requests previously submitted to UEFA” and offered to “work with the organization to improve the refereeing system and ensure a more rigorous, fair, and transparent application” of the rules.

On Tuesday, UEFA dismissed the five-time Champions League winners’ initial complaint as “inadmissible.” That protest centered on a handball by Atletico defender Marc Pubill from a goal kick in the first leg, which his team won 2-0.