UEFA rejects Barcelona handball complaint ahead of Champions League second leg quarterfinal against Atletico Madrid

European football governing body UEFA on Tuesday rejected Barcelona’s complaint over a handball incident in its Champions League quarterfinal first leg defeat by Atletico Madrid, hours before the second leg.

Diego Simeone’s side won 2-0 at Camp Nou last week, and Barca was upset by an incident where Atletico defender Marc Pubill touched the ball with his hand after it appeared a goal kick had been passed to him.

“(After the first leg) Barcelona filed a protest relating to a referee decision. On 13 April 2026, the UEFA Control Ethics and Disciplinary Body declared the protest to be inadmissible,” said UEFA in a statement.

Five-time Champions League winner Barca said last week the decision not to award it a penalty was a “major error” which influenced the result, and was upset referee Istvan Kovacs was not told to review the incident by the VAR team.

Published on Apr 14, 2026