An arbitration expert resolves the controversy in the “scandal” of Barcelona’s match against Atletico Madrid (video)

A Spanish arbitration expert described the refereeing errors of Romanian referee Stefan Kovac during the match between Barcelona and Atletico Madrid at Camp Nou Stadium in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals, which ended in a 2-0 victory for the visitors, as an “arbitration scandal.”

Former Spanish international referee Iturralde Gonzalez told the AS newspaper: “You cannot do that with your hand during a goal kick. The ball is fixed. It is a clear penalty kick, and then they criticize the Spanish referees… This is a scandal.”

The most notable case was when Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Juan Musso passed a ball from a goal kick to his fellow defender Mark Bobel inside the area, and the latter caught it, pinned it to the ground, and played it again, prompting Barcelona players and German coach Hetenzi Flick to demand a violation and a penalty kick for the Catalan club, but the referee ordered the continuation of play.

Crazy how the referee pulled this shot

Sir, what a laugh pic.twitter.com/h21R80gqlk

– Nayef (@58tlll) April 8, 2026

Gonzalez explained: “It is a grave technical error, one of the biggest technical errors… Oh my God, I will not even say among the biggest errors in years. The referee is the one who saw it, and he is an international referee and will participate in the World Cup. If he cannot control his heartbeat, then he should be content with refereeing youth matches.”

He added: “Enough of the explanation. He does not know the rule, and Bobel handled the ball without concentration. It is a clear shot without any players in front of him. It is a free kick, executed by Mousseau, and Bobel touched it with his hand. It is a penalty kick.”