English Premier League
Saudi Pro League incident reignites Barcelona’s Champions League refereeing complaint
A controversial handball decision in the Saudi Pro League has renewed claims that Barcelona were denied a penalty by referee Istvan Kovacs in last season’s Champions League.
The Romanian official awarded a spot-kick during Al-Khaleej’s 5-1 defeat by Al-Hilal after Kalidou Koulibaly handled the ball in his own penalty area. The incident was strikingly similar to an incident involving Atletico Madrid defender Mark Pubill in Barcelona’s Champions League quarter-final first leg on 8 April.
Kovacs did not award Barcelona a penalty in that match, which Atletico won 2-0, despite Pubill appearing to stop the ball with his hand after his goalkeeper, Juan Musso, had put it back into play with his foot.
Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo highlighted the contrast, saying Kovacs is now applying this season’s UEFA refereeing guidance strictly, with handball incidents inside the penalty area no longer left open to interpretation or the “spirit of the game” once the ball has been put into play.
The newspaper wrote: “The irony is that Kovacs is the same referee who did not award a penalty against Mark Pubill on 8 April in the Barcelona-Atletico Madrid match, which ended in a 2-0 defeat for Barca in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final.”
The Saudi Pro League incident occurred in the 64th minute of the match between Al-Khaleej and Al-Hilal. Al-Hilal goalkeeper Yassine Bounou had played the ball with his foot before Koulibaly stopped it with his hand.
“Moussa Barrow eventually missed the penalty,” Mundo Deportivo reported. “Kovacs did not hesitate this time, although he did not show Koulibaly a yellow card.”
The same sequence had caused significant debate in Barcelona’s match with Atletico. With Barca trailing 1-0, Pubill was judged to have done what Koulibaly did by handling the ball after Musso had put it into play with his foot.
On that occasion, Kovacs appeared to indicate that he was considering a penalty. He took two steps towards the area and moved his whistle close to his mouth, but ultimately backed away without awarding the kick.
Barcelona believed the decision had a major effect on the match because a penalty could have allowed them to equalise. Instead, Atletico scored again to complete a 2-0 victory.
The issue was also addressed by Roberto Rosetti, chairman of UEFA’s referees’ committee, during a presentation at the Grimaldi Forum in Monte Carlo on Thursday, before the Champions League draw.
Explaining why such handball incidents should result in penalties, Rosetti said: “We needed to close this chapter. We do not want to attack the spirit of the game. We are tired of interpretations and, in this way, it will end. We need to be consistent and it does not matter whether there are other players nearby or not.”
After the Atletico match, Barcelona submitted a formal complaint to UEFA. The club said in a statement that the officiating had been “contrary to the regulations in force, with a direct impact on the course and result of the match”.
Barcelona added: “The decision, together with the failure of the video assistant referee to intervene in a serious incident, constitutes a serious error.”
The Catalan club called for an investigation and requested access to the referees’ communications. It also asked UEFA, if necessary, to formally acknowledge the mistakes and take appropriate action.
UEFA did not accept Barcelona’s complaint.
