Barcelona lodge official complaint with UEFA over Champions League officiating
Barcelona have filed an official complaint with UEFA in relation to the officiating in their Champions League quarter-final first leg defeat to Atletico Madrid. The club confirmed the move in an official statement released on their website on Thursday, citing a specific incident and a pattern of decisions they believe have gone against them in the competition.
The La Liga side were beaten 2-0 at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys on Tuesday night. The match was defined by an early red card for Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo, which forced the team to play with ten men for over an hour. However, the club's formal complaint to UEFA centers on an incident in the 54th minute of the match. Barcelona contend that a penalty should have been awarded to them early in the second half when, they allege, the ball struck the hand of an Atletico Madrid defender inside the penalty area. No penalty was given, and the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) did not intervene to recommend an on-field review.
In a strongly worded statement, the club argued that the officiating by Romanian referee István Kovács and his team failed to meet the required standards. The club statement read that the officiating "did not meet the required standards and directly influenced the result of the match." Barcelona have requested that UEFA open an investigation and provide access to the audio communications between the match officials. The statement also suggested this was not an isolated incident, claiming "incomprehensible decisions" have repeatedly gone against the club in recent Champions League campaigns, creating a perceived "double standard."
Barcelona, who were also reduced to ten men early in the second half of their quarter-final first leg last season, have now been eliminated at the quarter-final stage in three of the last four seasons. The loss to Atletico Madrid, managed by former Barca boss Luis Enrique, leaves them with a significant challenge to overturn a 2-0 deficit in the second leg at the Estadio Metropolitano next week. The club's formal complaint is seen as a significant escalation of their dissatisfaction, moving beyond post-match comments from a manager to an official, legalistic challenge to the match officials' performance. UEFA has yet to make a public statement regarding the complaint. The return leg is scheduled for April 16th at the Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid.
