In the final hours leading up to the decisive Champions League match between Atlético de Madrid and FC Barcelona, as Lamine Yamal was hyping up the game in ‘LeBron James mode,’ the Catalan club’s manager requested UEFA to inspect the pitch at the Metropolitano Stadium, Atleti’s home ground, citing it as too high.
According to AS, Hansi Flick observed on Monday that the grass was excessively long and asked UEFA officials for a check. While no formal request was submitted to UEFA beyond Flick’s verbal statement, UEFA did look into the matter. Upon measuring the pitch on Tuesday morning, they found it to be 26 millimeters, which is four millimeters shorter than the maximum allowed height of 30 millimeters.
Complaint Regarding Referee Deemed ‘Inadmissible’ by UEFA
However, this was not the only setback Barcelona encountered this morning. The UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body responded to Barça’s formal complaint concerning a refereeing decision (a missed penalty call for Marc Pubill when he handled the ball) by declaring the claim ‘inadmissible.’
FC Barcelona had hinted in their complaint that a series of ‘unfathomable refereeing decisions’ had disadvantaged the team, “creating an evident double standard and preventing competition with other clubs on equal terms.” UEFA has rejected the protest.
The Atlético de Madrid vs. FC Barcelona match, with an aggregate score of 2-0 in favor of Atleti, is scheduled to kick off at 9:00 PM CEST, 8:00 PM BST tonight. This coincides with a duel between Liverpool and PSG, where the Reds must overcome a similar goal deficit.