FC Barcelona announced that the club's legal department has filed an official complaint with UEFA today, following the refereeing incidents that occurred during the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter-final against Atlético Madrid.

The club clarified in its statement that the complaint pertains to refereeing decisions deemed to be in violation of current regulations, which had a direct impact on the course and outcome of the match.

The complaint focused on an incident that occurred in the 54th minute of the match, when play was correctly resumed, but then a player from the opposing team touched the ball with his hand inside the penalty area without the referee awarding a penalty kick.

The incident involved not awarding a penalty to Barcelona after goalkeeper Juan Musso took a goal kick to his teammate Boubel, who touched the ball with his hand to control it before playing it back to the Argentine goalkeeper. However, referee Istvan Kovacs did not call anything, and the video assistant referee did not review the play.

Barcelona believes that this decision, along with the lack of intervention from the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology, represents a clear refereeing error. Therefore, the club has requested the opening of an official investigation, access to the communications that took place between the refereeing team and the VAR room, as well as acknowledgment of any errors if they exist and the taking of appropriate actions.

The Catalan club also pointed out that this is not the first time it has faced controversial refereeing decisions in recent editions of the UEFA Champions League, considering that such decisions have harmed the team and deprived the club of competing on equal terms with other clubs.