Spanish newspaper AS reported that Barcelona suffered a refereeing scandal during their 2-0 defeat to Atlético Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final at Camp Nou on Wednesday night.
The match saw three controversial incidents, the most notable being the failure to award Barcelona a clear penalty, which refereeing expert Iturralde González described as a “real scandal.”
Related topics
The controversial incident occurred in the second half when Juan Musso took a goal kick towards his teammate Puyol, who handled the ball instead of allowing play to continue. González stated:
“A clear penalty, a blatant technical error. I’m astonished that the referee and VAR ignored what happened. Once the ball is kicked, it’s in play, and the referee lost focus on the game afterward.”
Regarding Pau Coparci’s handball inside the penalty area after Molina’s shot, the expert said:
“It wasn’t a penalty because it came from a rebound, but Coparci’s red card at the end of the first half was certainly deserved, even though the referee didn’t have a perfect view.”
These events remain a subject of widespread debate within sporting circles, amid significant public and media outrage, while Barcelona awaits the second leg at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium, hoping to overturn the deficit and make a strong comeback in the Champions League.
