Refereeing Barcelona UEFA complaint refereeing became a hot topic after FC Barcelona submitted a second complaint to UEFA, following their loss in the quarter-finals of the Champions League to Atletico Madrid.
The Spanish giants lost the tie to the aggregate 3-2 and this was a match that sent Atlético to face Arsenal in the ensuing round. Nevertheless, Barcelona claim the result was very much dependent on the refereeing decisions in both legs.
Barcelo in their official announcement said that a number of crucial events were inconsistent with the Laws of the Game. The club cited what they termed as wrong interpretations by match officials and failure of the VAR system to take decisive action at critical moments of the matches.
The complaint is not confined to the isolated incidents but also what Barcelona refers to as the trend of inconsistencies which eventually determined the tie. The club feels that these decisions had sporting and financial implications particularly with the high stakes of progressing through the Champions League.
Barcelo also gave an indication that it was willing to cooperate with UEFA, despite their frustrations. The club has demanded more consistency in standards of refereeing, better transparency in decision making and greater exploitation of VAR in critical situations.
It is not the first complaint that Barcelona have lodged with the governing body of European football but this second official complaint is an indication that tension is growing around the officiating level in the competitions of the elite level.
UEFA is yet to release a statement. Nevertheless, the controlling authority will look into the concerns that are provided, as part of its routine post-match evaluation processes.At least, the European campaign of Barcelona is concluded, but the controversy surrounding the decisions of referees will continue in the future, probably long before the final whistle.
