Why it took so long to disallow Pau Cubarsi’s goal for Barcelona vs Atletico

Barcelona’s Copa del Rey semi-final first leg against Atlético Madrid ended in a bruising 4-0 defeat at the Metropolitano, yet the result was only part of the story. The match was dominated by an eight-minute VAR review that ultimately ruled out a second-half strike from teenage defender Pau Cubarsi, a delay the Spanish referees’ body, the CTA, has now blamed on a malfunction in the semi-automated offside technology.

With Hansi Flick’s side trailing by three goals and searching for a lifeline, Cubarsi thought he had pulled one back when he smashed home a loose ball. The stadium screens flashed “GOAL,” players celebrated, and momentum seemed to swing—until referee César Soto Grado received word from the VAR room to hold play. What followed was the longest check of the night as technicians attempted to generate the skeletal model that SAOT relies on to judge offside. According to a CTA statement released to Mundo Deportivo, the system “generated a failure in the player modeling through the skeletons, upon detecting a situation with a high density of players.”

Operators tried to recalibrate the software, but the crowded penalty area—packed with Atlético defenders, Barcelona attackers and goalkeeper Jan Oblak—overloaded the algorithm. After repeated attempts failed, the VAR team abandoned the automated tool and resorted to the old manual method, drawing lines frame-by-frame to determine that Cubarsi had been marginally ahead of the last defender when the initial shot was taken. The process took eight minutes and 12 seconds, a span in which players stretched, coaches argued and the stadium announcer repeatedly asked fans for patience.

The CTA stressed the final call was “correct,” yet admitted the extraordinary delay prevented broadcasters from receiving the customary 3-D replay, leaving television viewers and supporters inside the ground in the dark. Barcelona staff, already incensed by the scoreline, argued the prolonged wait killed any chance of a comeback, while Atlético officials privately complained the episode disrupted their rhythm ahead of Thursday’s second leg at Montjuïc.

Flick, who summoned 22 players for the return fixture, refused to blame the technology in his post-match press conference, but sources inside the club say the German coach will seek clarification from competition organisers over contingency plans should SAOT fail again. For now, Barcelona must overturn a four-goal deficit without the comfort of an away goal—an already monumental task made more frustrating by the memory of a celebration that never counted.