Awarded by FIFA, punished by UEFA » The Spaniards announce: Istvan Kovacs received the bill after Barcelona

The decision comes shortly after Barcelona decided to lodge an official complaint with UEFA. The Catalans' grievances concern several decisions of the Romanian “central”, including the elimination of Pau Cubarsi, but also the non-awarding of an alleged penalty for Barcelona.

UEFA suspended Istvan Kovacs until the end of the season

According to sport.es, UEFA has decided that the Romanian referee will no longer officiate any matches in the current season of the Champions League. It is a total of nine games: the four return legs of the quarter-finals, the four semi-finals and the final. Thus, Kovacs will no longer have the opportunity to referee in this edition of the competition.

So, although UEFA made an internal decision, even if it publicly claims that “it does not punish or suspend anyone”, it is clear that the Romanian referee will no longer step on the pitch in the current edition of the Champions League.

Punished by UEFA, rewarded by FIFA

Although he was the protagonist of several controversies at the “Camp Nou”, Istvan Kovacs found out the day after Barcelona – Atletico Madrid that he will be part of the referee brigade called by FIFA for this summer's World Championship.

Istvan Kovacs has accumulated a lot of experience in the previous seasons, having the honor of being the only referee who was in the “centre” in the Conference League, Europa League and Champions League finals.

Thus, Kovacs was among those designated by Pierluigi Collina at the final tournament this summer. The Romanian referee was also present at the previous World Championship, in Qatar, but he only had the position of reserve referee.