Barcelona complained to UEFA about VAR: "The club believes that the refereeing was not in accordance with the current law"

Barcelona have complained to UEFA about a "serious lack of VAR intervention" during their Champions League quarter-final first leg against Atletico Madrid. Barcelona lost 2-0 at home to Atletico on Wednesday in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final. Hansi Flick's side were denied a penalty in the 54th minute when Marc Pubilj handled the ball in front of his own goal. Pubilj, who had already been booked, stopped the ball with his hand after goalkeeper Juan Musso had taken a shot.

Barcelona players asked referee Istvan Kovac to award a penalty, which he did not do, and the VAR referee did not intervene.

"The club considers that the refereeing was not in accordance with the applicable law, which directly affected the course of the match and the result. Barcelona understands that this decision, together with the serious lack of VAR intervention, constitutes a serious error. Accordingly, the club has requested the launch of an investigation, access to referee communications and, where necessary, an official acknowledgement of the errors and the adoption of relevant measures," Barcelona said in a statement, as reported by the BBC.

Barcelona were reduced to ten men in the 44th minute after Pau Cubarsi was sent off. He was initially shown a yellow card, but the referee asked VAR to review the situation on the pitchside monitor, after which he showed the player a red card.

The second leg will be played on April 14 in Madrid.