When games are decided at the margins, every decision matters, and for Barcelona, it comes down to a tale of two VAR reviews for manager Hansi Flick, one that happened and one that was never called for. Barcelona lost the first leg of their semifinal 2-0 to Atletico Madrid during the process, going down to 10 men as Pau Cubarsi was sent off in the first half.
Initially, Cubarsi was given a yellow for his challenge on Antoine Griezmann, but after it went to VAR review, that was upgraded to a red card, where Julian Alvarez then buried his free kick, starting Atletico Madrid’s road to victory in the match.
But Barcelona had a chance to level that ultimately didn’t go their way, and that could’ve changed the entire tie.
After a stop by Juan Musso on Marcus Rashford’s free kick in the 53rd minute, defender Marc Pubill picked up the ball following a restart from a goal kick, then passed it back to Musso to boot it long. That didn’t go to a VAR review, although by the letter of the law, it should’ve ended with a penalty and a sending off for Atletico Madrid. Flick thought so too.
“They deserved a red card, the goalkeeper played the ball, it’s clear. Clear play and he stopped it with the hand, which is a yellow and a penalty normally for me,” Flick said following the game. “He has the ball here, he played it, and for me it’s clear that he started the game. For me, it’s clear.”
It’s a strange gray area in soccer where the letter of the law meets common sense, but in the era of VAR, it’s hard to have both because either plays like that don’t go to review, which allows the on-field referee to use their best judgment, or they’re reviewed and treated to the letter of the law.
This was also an issue that split the CBS Sports studio crew, with Thierry Henry advocating for the letter of the law.
“If you put the ball down, the ball is in play, right? And if I pass it to you and you put your hand on it, if the referee doesn’t blow the whistle, it’s no problem, but if the referee blows the whistle, it’s a penalty,” Henry said.
Aston Villa will know this well, as there is precedent for giving handballs and penalties in situations like that. In November of 2024, Club Brugge were given a penalty in Champions League play, which was the difference in a 1-0 victory over Villa after Tyrone Mings picked up the ball to pass it to goalkeeper Emi Martinez, assuming that play had not yet been restarted. But since it was, after a VAR review, a penalty was awarded, but Mings wasn’t given a second yellow card, although a card likely should have been produced as well.
When margins are so thin, these decisions matter as it’s the difference between Barcelona going into the next leg level in the match or even ahead versus needing to come back from two goals down. Flick acknowledged that the lack of a penalty wasn’t the only reason that his team lost, but it certainly didn’t help in the match.
Barcelona will be back in action on Saturday, facing Espanyol in LaLiga play before traveling to face Atletico Madrid on April 14 in the second leg of this semifinal matchup.
