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In the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final, Atlético Madrid defeated Barcelona 2-0. In the 54th minute, with Barcelona down to 10 men searching for an equalizer, Atlético goalkeeper Juan Musso passed the ball to Marc Pubill, who stopped it with his hand before kicking it away. Referee István Kovács did not make a call, and VAR did not intervene. After the match, reporters revealed that Barcelona's dressing room and officials were considering a possible appeal.
Controversial Point: Similar Cases with Different Decisions in Recent Champions League Seasons
Non-Penalty Cases
In the 2023-24 Champions League quarter-final first leg, Arsenal drew 2-2 with Bayern Munich at home. After the match, Thomas Tuchel and Harry Kane complained about Gabriel Magalhães handling the ball in the penalty area. The incident occurred in the 66th minute when play was stopped for substitutions including Gabriel Jesus. The referee then blew the whistle to restart play, David Raya passed the ball to Gabriel, who picked it up with his hand before giving it back to Raya. After the ball was kicked off, Kane complained to the referee for nearly 20 seconds.
Contrasting Penalty Case
In the 4th round of the 2024-25 Champions League group stage, Aston Villa played away against Club Brugge. In the 51st minute, Emiliano Martínez took a goal kick, and Tyrone Mings directly picked up the ball with his hand inside the penalty area, which the referee ruled as a penalty. Hans Vanaken converted the spot-kick, and Villa ultimately lost 0-1 to Club Brugge.
Post-Match Referee Experts' Debate
Former professional referees who have transitioned to commentators also held different views on this incident. Former La Liga referee Izquierdo González stated that this should have been a penalty: "There is no other explanation, this is a very clear and obvious foul... The referee is not familiar with the rules and was caught off guard by (Pubill's) action. This is the most serious refereeing mistake I have seen in years." Former La Liga referee and current Movistar+ commentator Mateu Lahoz analyzed the decision. He said: “From a rules perspective, when the ball is already in play, the defender made a wrong judgment and handled the ball in the penalty area, which could theoretically be penalized with a penalty. But in this level of match, it is usually considered a natural movement, so I understand why the referee did not award a penalty.”
What did the coach and players say?
Looking back at the controversy from the 2023-24 Champions League quarter-final between Arsenal and Bayern Munich, Thomas Tuchel said in an interview at the time: “The referee made a huge mistake. I know it was a crazy situation—they put the ball down, the referee blew the whistle, and the defender picked it up with his hand. What really made us angry was the explanation given on the field; he told us that the player made a 'childish mistake' and he wouldn't give us a penalty in a Champions League quarter-final for that. This is a very bad, very bad explanation. Childish mistake, adult mistake—either way, we're very angry because this was a major disadvantageous decision for us.”
After this match, Hansi Flick directly criticized the refereeing: “They scored two goals and showed high-level performance. We should have defended better for the first goal; we received a yellow card, then they scored. VAR was very biased in Atlético's favor... The VAR referee (Christian Dingert) is German. Thank you, Germany. I don't understand what happens when the goalkeeper touches the ball once and then the defender blocks it with his hand. In my opinion, that should have been a second yellow card plus a penalty. I hope the referee can give us an explanation.”
The player involved, Juan Musso, explained: "I think the referee interpreted it well—the ball was not in play at that moment, and Pubill picked it up to pass it back to me. In all our goal kicks, he always hands the ball to me. If he had done it to gain an advantage, like if he was being pressed and picked up the ball with his hand... but obviously he wasn't trying to gain any advantage, because the ball wasn't in play, which is also how the referee interpreted it." Diego Simeone addressed the controversy after the match: “If I was far from the incident that led to the red card for Cubarsi, I was even further from the other one (in Atlético's six-yard box in the second half). If both players and the referee believe that play only resumed after Pubill's action, that's common sense in football. Then we can discuss all the situations we want.”
How Do Football Rules Define This?
Goal Kick Rules
The execution of a goal kick must strictly follow these steps to ensure compliance with the rules and fair play:
- Location: The defending team player kicks the ball from any point within their own goal area. The ball must be stationary before being kicked; it cannot be kicked while moving. After the rule change in 1992, the kick-off point is no longer limited to the goal area on the side where the ball went out of bounds, but can be anywhere in the entire goal area.
- Player Positions: When taking the kick, all opposing players must remain outside the penalty area until play has restarted; there are no special positioning restrictions for the kicking team's players. Usually taken by the goalkeeper, it can also be executed by any defending player. After the 2019 rule change, the kicking team's players can receive the ball inside the penalty area without waiting for it to be kicked out of the penalty area first, improving the feasibility of short passing tactics from the back.
- Kick Requirements: The player taking the kick must kick the ball and cannot touch it again before it has touched another player (except for handball, which is judged separately). If the player chooses to take a quick kick and attacking players cannot leave the penalty area in time, the referee may allow play to continue without penalizing the offense.
- Sign of Play Resumption: After the 2019 rule adjustment, play is considered restarted when the ball is kicked and clearly moves; previously, the rule required the ball to be kicked directly out of the penalty area for play to resume.
- After play has restarted, if the player who took the kick touches the ball again before it has touched another player (except for handball), the opposing team is awarded an indirect free kick from the place where the infringement occurred.
After play has restarted, if a player of the kicking team deliberately handles the ball:
- If the handling occurs outside their own penalty area, the opposing team is awarded a direct free kick from the place where the infringement occurred.
- If the handling occurs inside their own penalty area and the player is not the goalkeeper, a penalty kick is awarded to the opposing team.
- If the handling player is the goalkeeper, the opposing team is awarded an indirect free kick from the place where the infringement occurred.
Therefore, in this case, the controversial focus is the timing of play resumption. Since the ball was stationary and both teams' players were in compliance with the rules when Musso/Martínez touched it, strictly speaking, the referee could consider play to have restarted at that moment, and Pubill/Mings' subsequent handball should have been penalized with a penalty. However, since the rules do not specify that the goalkeeper must be the one to take the goal kick, the referee could also consider Pubill/Mings as the goal kick takers, with play only resuming after they placed the ball on the six-yard line.
What Was Happening in the VAR Room?
According to Josep Soldado, a reporter from Spanish channel La Sexta, there was chaos in the VAR room at one point. Soldado stated that unlike La Liga, Champions League VAR teams are usually located inside the stadium: "At least today at Barcelona's home ground, they were in an adjacent room." The VAR referees responsible for this match were German referee Christian Dingert and Portuguese referee Thiago Martins. He further revealed that when the controversy occurred, the VAR room was "completely confused" and "they didn't know what Barcelona was appealing against." Because the match was still ongoing, the referee team was unable to review the incident in a timely manner. Their subsequent understanding was that "they thought Barcelona was complaining about Musso and Pubill deliberately wasting time while taking the goal kick." "This was the VAR room's interpretation at the time," Soldado said, and because of this, they did not realize that Barcelona was appealing against a specific decision, so they did not remind the referee to review it.
Currently, UEFA has not issued a statement regarding this decision, but given the current situation, these inconsistent penalty standards will undoubtedly spark further debate in the football world about relevant rules, referees, and VAR.
