The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) has decided to suspend Istvan Kovacs, the referee of the Champions League quarter-final match between "Barcelona" and "Atletico Madrid" (0:2), until the end of the current season.
According to Idman.Biz, citing Sport.es, the organization noted several mistakes made by the Romanian referee in the game.
It is also emphasized that Kovacs will referee at the 2026 World Cup. The referee's name is on the FIFA list.
"Barcelona" had previously announced that they had complained to UEFA about the refereeing and VAR. In particular, "Blaugrana" highlighted the incident in the 54th minute of the match when an opponent touched the ball with his hand in the penalty area, but a penalty was not awarded.