Barcelona have filed a formal complaint with the European governing body UEFA about the refereeing of Wolfgang Stark in Tuesday's 2-2 Champions League draw at Paris St Germain.

Their main criticism concerns an incident in the second half of the quarter-final first leg in Paris in which Javier Mascherano and Jordi Alba collided and were both lying prone on the ground in the penalty area.

"The club has written to UEFA due to a series of incidents on the pitch in the understanding that objectively speaking it was evident that the referee did not apply the rules of the game," Barca spokesman Toni Freixa told a news conference after a meeting of the club's board on Thursday.

"When two players from the same team are on the floor the referee should stop the match, which did not happen.

"What's more he then obliged them to leave the pitch, in contravention of the rules.

"An incident that is sufficiently serious in a competition like the Champions League to bring to UEFA's attention so that it does not happen again."

Barca were also incensed that Zlatan Ibrahimovic's goal to make the score 1-1 in the 79th minute was allowed to stand when the Swede was clearly in an offside position.

Ibrahimovic, who spent a season at Barca in 2009-10, was playing only because UEFA halved on appeal the two-match ban he received after his sending-off at Valencia in the last 16 round.

"We are fully conscious of the possibility of errors in refereeing and we do not consider ourselves badly treated," Freixa said.

"But it surprises us that in a high-level competition a referee does not know the rules.

"We are not judging the work of referees but the basic principle that a judge should know the law. We hope it does not happen again."

Barca host PSG in the return game at the Nou Camp on Wednesday. (Reporting by Iain Rogers, editing by Mark Meadows and John Mehaffey)

Three things:

1) Barcelona have a good point about the offside goal. However, as we've discovered a HUNDRED times to the detriment of English teams, the referee's decision on the day is final. 

2) Considering how often Barcelona have benefited from quite outrageous refereeing decisions in the Champions League, I don't know how they can make this complaint with a straight face.

3) Since PSG are owned by a Qatari prince, and Barcelona are sponsored by the Qatar Foundation, I am making myself a bowl of popcorn as we watch this unfold. >:)

Barca have been kissed up by UEFA referees WAY too many times in the Champions League. I consider this disgraceful from them, that when their own players dive and cry on the ground, players such as Motta, Pepe, and Terry suffer, and when Ibra scores an offside goal against them, they pounce on the referee. They should be aware that their success in Europe came at a price, and they shouldn't complain when they have to take some of their own medicine.

Let's be fair Dynastian. It's not Barcelona's fault that the refs screw up. Just because of THEIR errors it doesn't mean that the other team is a cheater. ALL TEAMS get bad calls for AND against them so please stop talking as if we are the bad guys. Don't forget Real Madrid are still in the CL because of an UNJUST RED CARD TO NANI. Don't forget that.

I agree with Dynastian

@Dynast: OK, true. But did you not watch the Gala game?

tasting there own medecen LOL

@Dynastian You still living in the past dude that Motta red card was 3-4 years ago lol.. move on 

As If Real Madrid doesnt benefit from poor refereeing also.

The day we were playing attacking football and dominating Barcelona all the game till they got the only shot on target very late in the game to give them a win on aggregate unfairly. This is the day were I stopped respecting Barcelona, They were my favorite club in La liga. and if you were watching that match you would know what I'm talking about. There is no right to Barcelona to file a complaint, Otherwise they should bring this match to question as well :) I don't care about other matches.

@Alex if i was a chelsea player i would refuse to shake their hands. That was the match where got pissed off on football for the first time. There were about seven handballs that game, all of them being in the penalty are, we could have beat them 8-1 on aggregate, instead we got knocked out.

@Alex, that game was questionable no doubt but it's that horrible referee's fault. It's his job to be fair and call fauls. Maybe Barca did something behind the scenes maybe not. From what I understand of the rigged side of football the teams have nothing to do with it and it's rich people Tring to get richer. Don't blame the team as it could have been any team and had the same outcome.

out of all the teams to complain about the ref having a bad game, Barcalona would be last on the list. I dont like Chelsea, but watching that video alexbatak put up still really pisses me off that chelsea didnt go through because of the cheating ref. I used to respect barca but now i hate them just as much as man city...

and a comment i saw on that video alex put up:
"English teams are being slowly driven out of the mainstream by them UEFA fucks!!!!!! They hate the fact that the Premier league is regarded as the best in the world and they would do anything to make sure the spotlight is on other leagues , I.E the Spanish, Italian league , German league ... ect This is FACT!!!! yet , this changes absolutely nothing , English football will still be the most popular football regardless! The majority of the world watch and support English teams! FUCK UEFA"
so, SO true.....

sorry that i went a little off topic, but i agree with that comment so much

lol,other teams have suffered more worse decisions and they just move on.And now just because of this they file a complaint?UEFA is corrupt and will always be until Platini dies.Even the draw was rigged,and I'm not blaming Barca and Real by the way.

@raimondo90 The players especially their defense were tackling on purpose and pulling our players down as if they know that the referee would back them up. There is no big club would do this on purpose in such big games. Maybe I'm being a bit harsh but that's what i feel as a Chelsea fan. That night was the worst night ever. If you were in my position watching that match as a Chelsea supporter you would feel me :)

@TheTruth

But there is a clear difference between Nani's red card and Pepe's red card.

You see, Nani may not have done nothing wrong, but Arbeloa was actually genuinely hurt. He wasn't simulating. Whereas in the Clasico semi final, Dani Alves wasn't even touched by Pepe. He was completely acting as if he'd broken his leg, and everyone bought it except for Pepe. Only Pepe knew that he hadn't touched Dani. Now HERE, I'm NOT going to blame the referee, because at first sight it DOES look like Pepe hit Alves pretty hard. But of course, after replays, we see Alves' sin.

So it's not just UEFA and referees at fault for all the controversy against Barcelona in Europe, but the players themselves are equally guilty. Just because they have a thirst for victory doesn't mean that they should simulate to make the refs kiss up to them. It's taking advantage of your rights on the pitch, and it WILL come back to haunt Busquets and co. one day. Mark my words. Referees don't fall for Busquets' antics much anymore.

Reckless tackle is a straight red card

@devilz that comment is true

@Dynastian98 bro you're missing the point... we're talking about the REF'S mistakes not the player's nature but ok let's talk about that too then. Look I know some of our players tend to fall easily like Dani and Busquets. I'm not even going to try to deny it because they do BUT don't all teams have divers in their teams?? Di Maria (sadly) dives, Ronaldo dives, Pepe dives. See? All teams have players like that. Ashley Young in Man Utd, Gareth Bale in Tottenham etc. Anyway, regarding Pepe's red card it was fully deserved. Why? It was a RECKLESS challenge. You don't need to make contact to get a red card. Pepe was going studs in. He KNEW Alves was there but kept his foot going unlike Nani who didn't know Arbeloa was there. Nani had NO intention whatsoever to hit arbeloa. It was a yellow at most but never a red.

PS: I don't know if you've noticed but Busquets has toned down his diving A LOT. He still dives but not as much just like Ronaldo.

"Just because they have a thirst for victory doesn't mean that they should simulate to make the refs kiss up to them." -Dynastian98           

@TheTruth

God, you Barcelona fans are all the same. Did I ever say that Pepe doesn't dive? Or di Maria? No. But I DID say that YOUR players dive IN THE BIG GAMES, and they GET AWAY WITH IT. For Christ's sake, stop trying to accuse us for diving when you have players on YOUR team doing the exact same thing.

Now, I ask you, when was the last time Pepe dived in an important game, and got the other team a red card, and got away with it? Well? The answer is never. Even in the video you posted, nothing happened. Pepe may have dived, but NOTHING HAPPENED. Whenever di Maria or Pepe dive, it's usually in stupid scenarios where they could've stood on their feet, and I'll admit, it pisses me off that they have to resort to diving. And as for Ronaldo, he doesn't dive anymore. And as for Dani and Busquets' dives, they were BOTH in a Champions League SEMI FINAL. And they both got Pepe and Motta RED CARDS. Do you see the difference??? And in both occasions, your team WON THE GAME.

And for Pepe's red card, his challenge may have been "reckless", but that doesn't give Dani any reason to DIVE. He could've pulled his foot back and Pepe would've gotten a yellow, but he rolls on the ground like a cry baby and pretends his leg is BROKEN. He even goes as far as to get on a STRETCHER. And what happens after? Busquets crowds around the referee asking as to why Pepe has killed Dani in cold-blood, and Pepe gets sent off. And what magnificent sight do we see one minute after Pepe's departure? Dani Alves back on the pitch and sprinting down the right side of the pitch, and Madrid are left with 10 men and go on to lose 2-0 (which basically knocked them out of the CL).

@ Dynastian

Every game is a big game because teams like RM and Barca play for points which prove to be crucial at the end of the season. If the score is tied or they are losing, a player will throw their self in the box to win a penalty in any game so they can win. Diving in small games so you could get all the necessary points to win the league, even if you lose against the big teams. 

Of course RM hasn't dived in a "big" game like you say because in recent seasons they haven't been in any big games to be honest. They have been a ghost in European competitions for a while now. Either way, are El Classico's not big games? 

Yeah Dani Alves was a punk that game but that challenge was still a red card offence even if Alves didn't move. Pepe has studs UP and literally attempted to stomp on his knee. Either way RM has done its fair share of theatrics and drama against Barcelona, so I think it's pretty even.