The arbitration expert gave the verdict, after Istvan Kovacs was the protagonist in Barcelona
Article by Romeo Ene – Published on Wednesday, 08 April 2026, 23:15 / Updated on Wednesday, 08 April 2026 23:19
Istvan Kovacs refereed Barcelona – Atletico Madridthe round of the “quarters” of the Champions League. The Romanian was the protagonist of an important moment in the 42nd minute, and the Spanish arbitration specialist gave the verdict.
What exactly happened? Atletico forward Giuliano Simeone got away alone with Barcelona goalkeeper Joan Garcia and was fouled by Pau Cubarsi from the last defender position.
Although the red card was obvious, Kovacs only awarded “yellow” to the Catalan defender. Called from the VAR room by Christian Dingert, the Romanian changed his decision and eliminated him.
From the resulting free kick, Julian Alvarez sent a “bomb” into the net of the goal defended by Joan Garcia.
PHOTO. Istvan Kovacs, saved by VAR in Barcelona – Atletico Madrid
Perez Burull, a former referee in La Liga, analyzed the controversial phase and believes that Istvan Kovacs did the right thing. If he had kept the yellow card he would have committed an error.
“Correct decision as he takes down Giuliano as the last defender. If you whistle the foul, you must send the player off”, said Burull, for MARCA.
Istvan Kovacs reviewed the phase for a minute on the VAR monitor and decided to send off Cubarsi. Atletico immediately opened the scoring after Julian Alvarez's masterful execution, directly from a free kick.
At halftime, Hansi Flick made two changes at Barcelona: Pedri and Lewandowski came out, Gavi and Fermin came in, looking for a tie
Istvan Kovacs was helped by assistants Mihai Marica and Ferencz Tunyogi. The fourth official was Szabolcs Kovacs, Istvan's brother.
The German Christian Dingert was in the VAR room during this duel, assisted by the Portuguese Tiago Bruno Lopes Martins. Stefano Podeschi was the referee observer, and UEFA delegate Irakli Nakaidze.
