The controversy surrounding match incidents
Barcelona has raised concerns following their Champions League elimination, claiming that key refereeing decision changed both legs’ direction.
Barcelona claims that in both games, important decisions were made against them during key moments of play.
The red cards and the VAR decisions under scrutiny
Pau Castrorsi was the first to be sent off after being found guilty of denying an obvious scoring opportunity.
Eric Garcia was also shown a red in the second game after a pitch-side review led to the referee upgrading a yellow.
These moments, according to the club, show inconsistent VAR use and decisions in both matches.
Barcelona files formal complaint with UEFA
Barcelona complained first after the first leg. They cited what they deemed a severe lack of VAR interventions. UEFA rejected this complaint later.
Barcelona said that officials had also applied rules incorrectly to several important situations.
The repeated mistakes had an impact on match results, causing both financial and sporting damage.
Reaction of players and clubs
Raphinha was a forward who had missed both games due to an injury. She strongly criticised refereeing in the aftermath of the second match. He called the decision-making unfair, and said that it felt like the referees had robbed both matches.
Club position and result
Barcelona insists that refereeing errors, not pure athletic performance, determined the result. The group continues to call for a review of the officiating standard in all major tournaments.
