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Barca were unhappy with an alleged handball by Atletico\u2019s Marc Pubill in quarterfinal first leg but UEFA rejects appeal.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Published On 14 Apr 2026<\/span>14 Apr 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n European football governing body UEFA on Tuesday rejected Barcelona\u2019s complaint over a handball incident in their Champions League quarterfinal first leg defeat by Atletico Madrid, hours before the second leg<\/a>.<\/p>\n Diego Simeone\u2019s side won 2-0 at Camp Nou last week, and Barca were upset by an incident where Atletico defender Marc Pubill touched the ball with his hand after it appeared a goal kick had been passed to him.<\/p>\n \u201c(After the first leg) Barcelona filed a protest relating to a referee decision. On 13 April 2026, the UEFA Control Ethics and Disciplinary Body declared the protest to be inadmissible,\u201d said UEFA in a statement.<\/p>\n Five-time Champions League winners Barca said last week the decision not to award them a penalty was a \u201cmajor error\u201d which influenced the result, and were upset referee Istvan Kovacs was not told to review the incident by the VAR team.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n