Barcelona have launched a fierce attack on Champions League officiating, claiming a series of refereeing "errors" directly cost them a place in the semi-finals and inflicted "significant sporting and financial harm" on the club.
The Spanish giants have submitted a second formal complaint to UEFA following their dramatic 3-2 aggregate defeat to domestic rivals Atletico Madrid in the quarter-finals. The tie saw Barcelona reduced to ten men in both legs, with crucial decisions going against them.
"Several refereeing decisions were made that did not comply with the laws of the game," the club stated. "The accumulation of these errors had a direct impact on the course of the matches and on the final outcome of the tie."
In the first leg, defender Pau Cubarsi received a red card after referee Istvan Kovacs reviewed a potential denial of a goalscoring opportunity at the pitchside monitor. Barcelona were further incensed when VAR official Christian Dingert did not intervene after Atletico's Marc Pubill appeared to handle the ball in his own penalty area.
History repeated in the second leg. Despite securing a 2-1 victory on the night, Barcelona's Eric Garcia was also sent off after a yellow card was upgraded to red following a VAR review by referee Clement Turpin. The dismissals left the Catalan side fighting an uphill battle to overturn a 2-0 first-leg deficit.
Barcelona had already seen an initial protest over a "grave lack of VAR intervention" dismissed by UEFA as "inadmissible." Undeterred, the club has now filed a second, more comprehensive complaint, accusing match officials of "incorrect application of the regulations" and criticizing the lack of VAR involvement in "incidents of clear significance."
The frustration was echoed by Barcelona forward Raphinha, who missed both matches through injury. "For me, this match was a robbery," he told reporters after the second leg. "Not just this match but the other one as well."
In their latest statement, Barcelona reiterated their previous requests to UEFA and offered to "collaborate with the organisation with the aim of improving the refereeing system to ensure a more rigorous, fair and transparent application of the laws of the game." The controversy casts a long shadow over their European exit and sets the stage for a tense confrontation with football's governing body.