Barcelona’s Champions League exit from Atlético Madrid hasn’t just been painful—it’s now a full-on officiating dispute, and the club says it’s not done.
Joan Laporta, the Barcelona president, described Tuesday night’s quarterfinal elimination as “disgraceful,” pointing to a chain of referee and VAR decisions that, in his view, swung the tie. Barça did win 2-1 at the Metropolitano, but they still went out 3-2 on aggregate after last week’s 2-0 loss at Spotify Camp Nou in the first leg. In the aftermath, you could almost hear the tension in the room—somebody shifting in their seat, the kind of murmur that comes when a team believes it was wronged.
Speaking to reporters, Laporta didn’t mince words. He said the refereeing was unacceptable, arguing that “already in the first leg” Barcelona were not given a penalty for a Marc Pubill handball, and that Pau Cubarsí was sent off when it “should only have been a yellow card.” Laporta added that the referee initially made the right call with the yellow, “but the VAR demanded a red card which really damaged our chances.” That theme—decisions being correct at first glance, only to be overturned—came up again when he talked about the second leg.
Barça’s complaints started with the first tie. After that first leg, the club filed an official complaint to UEFA, mainly protesting they should have received a spot kick when Pubill touched the ball with his hand after goalkeeper Juan Musso had appeared to restart play. Barça also believed Pubill—already on a booking—should have been sent off. UEFA’s response this week, according to Laporta, was that the complaint was “inadmissible.”
On Tuesday, Laporta said the second leg brought more of the same problems. He cited Eric García’s 79th minute red card, Ferran Torres’ disallowed goal for offside, a penalty appeal for a challenge on Dani Olmo, and what he described as a potential foul when Musso’s studs smashed into Fermín López’s face. “His lip was completely bust open. Not even a booking!” Laporta said, emphasizing that the aggression was unacceptable. He also framed García’s sending off as debatable, arguing that Jules Koundé could “easily have got to the ball,” meaning García “wasn’t the last man,” with Laporta insisting the referee already had a yellow card out and that VAR again intervened.
Laporta added that this isn’t just venting. Barcelona will keep pushing UEFA over the standard of officiating, and he suggested the club will ask for further explanations after UEFA labeled the earlier complaint “inadmissible.” He said the club would make another complaint because “what’s inadmissible is what happened to us on Tuesday once again.” It’s a blunt way to put it, but it matches the anger in the arguments—Barcelona feel the process is being closed to them, while the consequences keep landing on the pitch.
Raphinha, meanwhile, echoed the frustration. Injured in the match, he called Barcelona “robbed” after the elimination. Laporta backed up the Brazilian’s comments on Wednesday. Later, Raphinha apologized for a gesture toward Atlético supporters that he made at the Metropolitano, saying it “does not reflect my values or character” and that it was in response to a fan who was disrespecting him. Fellow forward Lamine Yamal tried to keep the mood forward-looking, posting that Barcelona gave everything but it “was not enough,” and that every error would be a lesson—then throwing down the line that they’ll “get back to where we deserve to be.”
After halftime, Barcelona had reason to believe in a comeback: Lamine Yamal and Ferran Torres scored in the first half to fuel their hopes. But Ademola Lookman’s strike edged Atlético back in front in the tie, and with García’s dismissal leaving Barça to play the final 15 minutes with 10 players, the momentum didn’t come back. Atlético, who have never previously won Europe’s top prize, now move on to a semifinal against either Arsenal or Sporting CP—while Barcelona’s fight shifts from the stadium to UEFA’s inboxes, and Laporta’s insistence that “we will ask for further explanations” hangs in the air a little longer than the final whistle.
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