UEFA has reminded referees that a penalty must be awarded when a player touches the ball with a hand or arm inside their own penalty area during play, following the controversy involving Barcelona and Atletico de Madrid in last season’s Champions League.
The guidance was highlighted by Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo in connection with the first leg of the 2025-26 Champions League quarter-final between the two teams.
The disputed incident occurred at Camp Nou on 8 April, when Atletico defender Marc Pubill stopped the ball with his right hand inside the penalty area after goalkeeper Juan Musso had passed it to him while taking a free-kick.
UEFA’s instruction did not directly refer to the wider refereeing controversy from the match, which was officiated by Hungarian referee Istvan Kovacs, with the video assistant referee system overseen by Germany’s Christian Dingert.
However, it made clear that the relevant point of the handball law should not be subject to individual interpretation. In similar circumstances, the refereeing team must award a penalty.
Barcelona were already trailing 1-0 when the incident took place and went on to lose the match 2-0. The decision prompted strong criticism from their manager, Hansi Flick.
“That’s exactly what we have VAR for, it should have been a second yellow card and a penalty,” Flick said.
Atletico manager Diego Simeone defended the decision, saying: “A penalty was not given applying common sense.”
UEFA’s clarification is intended to produce greater consistency if a similar incident occurs in future Champions League matches. The issue has been heightened by contrasting decisions in comparable situations.
A penalty was awarded in Club Brugge’s match against Aston Villa during the 2024-25 season, while a similar incident was not punished during Arsenal’s meeting with Bayern Munich in spring 2024. The same outcome occurred in the Barcelona-Atletico match at Camp Nou.
The latest clarification means refereeing teams have been warned that a handball inside the area in these circumstances must lead to a spot-kick, rather than being assessed differently from one match to another.
It is the second consecutive summer in which Atletico have been involved in one of the Champions League’s most contentious refereeing incidents.
During the last-16 tie in the 2024-25 campaign, Julian Alvarez had a goal disallowed during the penalty shootout that decided the contest in Real Madrid’s favour. The decision was based on the view that the Atletico forward had touched the ball twice in succession while taking his penalty.
Several months later, UEFA ruled that if a comparable incident occurs in a future shootout and the double contact is accidental but the ball still goes into the net, the penalty should be retaken.
The two clarifications underline UEFA’s attempt to establish a more consistent approach to disputed handball decisions and penalty-shootout incidents, after Atletico were involved in major controversies in successive Champions League campaigns.
