UEFA considers FC Barcelona’s protest against Atlético “inadmissible”

The UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Committee has declared this Tuesday that it considers “inadmissible” the protest presented by FC Barcelona after the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals regarding a possible penalty committed by Atlético de Madrid player Marc Pubill, considering that he caught a ball inside the area with his hands, while it was in play.

“After the first leg of the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League played on Wednesday, April 8, 2026 between FC Barcelona and Atlético de Madrid, FC Barcelona presented a protest related to an arbitration decision. On April 13, 2026, the UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Committee declared the protest inadmissible,” says the statement from the highest European football body.

FC Barcelona announced last Thursday that it had presented a “formal complaint” to UEFA for the “referee action contrary to the regulations” they suffered on Wednesday in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final against Atlético de Madrid, mentioning a specific play but also talking about something systematic.

The Barça club considered that there was a referee’s action contrary to the current regulations, with a direct impact on the development of the match and its result,” he noted, focusing his claim on the action in the 54th minute, in which Juan Musso seemed to put the ball into play and his teammate Marc Pubill, inside the area, caught the ball with his hands to take another goal kick, “without the corresponding penalty being called” or the VAR entering.