Fútbol Club Barcelona presented a new complaint to UEFA on Thursday over the refereeing in its Champions League quarterfinal tie against Atlético de Madrid, saying several decisions across the two matches did not comply with the rules of the game.
The club said the disputed calls came from an incorrect application of the regulations and inadequate VAR intervention in actions of clear importance. Barcelona said the accumulation of those errors had a direct impact on the development of the matches and the final result of the tie, causing what it described as a significant sporting and economic harm to the entity.
The complaint repeats requests Barcelona had already made to UEFA and again offers to collaborate with the governing body to improve the refereeing system. That follows an earlier formal complaint after the first leg, when Barcelona said it felt harmed by the officiating of Romanian referee Istvan Kovacs. UEFA's Committee for Control, Ethics and Discipline rejected that complaint.
The issue now goes beyond one match. Barcelona is challenging the officiating across both legs of the knockout tie, and the club has already shown it is willing to press the point even after UEFA turned down its first protest. The next step rests with UEFA, which has already heard one version of the grievance and must now decide whether the second complaint changes anything.
