Barcelona vs Milan 2012: Two Penalties, One Corner and the Kuipers Argument

The first leg at San Siro was 0–0. At Camp Nou, Barcelona had two penalties inside 41 minutes, both converted by Messi, and Milan went home disgusted. The first, Antonini on Messi, Milan accepted. The second — Alessandro Nesta holding Sergio Busquets as a corner came in — became the argument: the contact was real, but critics said it began before the ball was in play, that Puyol was holding Nesta on the same corner, and that a foul given at every corner in every match would produce three penalties a game. 'I'm just disgusted,' said Zlatan Ibrahimović. 'The match went as we expected it to go,' said the referee.

Quick facts

Match: Barcelona 3–1 AC Milan, Camp Nou, 3 April 2012
Tie: First leg 0–0 at San Siro; Barcelona through 3–1 on aggregate
Referee: Björn Kuipers (Netherlands)
State at the second penalty: 1–1 on the night and on aggregate, 41st minute
The decision: Penalty for Nesta holding Busquets at a corner; Nesta booked 40'
The first penalty: Antonini on Messi, 11' — largely undisputed
Against Barcelona: An Ibrahimović appeal against Mascherano waved away early in the second half
VAR: None

The tie

Milan had held Barcelona 0–0 at San Siro and arrived at Camp Nou believing an away goal could turn the tie. Luca Antonini's foul on Messi in the 10th minute — a challenge from behind during a scramble in the area that Milan's own manager later conceded — gave Barcelona an 11th-minute penalty. Antonio Nocerino's 32nd-minute goal, from an Ibrahimović through-ball, was exactly the away goal Milan had come for. At 1–1 the tie was Milan's to lose. Nine minutes later they lost it.

The referee and the decision

Björn Kuipers, then rising through UEFA's elite list and later the referee for the 2014 Europa League and 2021 Champions League finals, had already booked Nesta in the 40th minute as Xavi prepared a corner. As the ball came in, Nesta had both arms around Busquets and pulled him to the ground; Kuipers pointed to the spot and Messi scored his second. Milan's Clarence Seedorf asked the referee why; the answer, relayed by Seedorf, was that Kuipers had already warned Nesta about pulling in the box.

Goal's frame-by-frame analysis made the case Milan still make: that the holding began before Xavi struck the corner, so the ball was not in play and a penalty could not be awarded; and that on the same corner Carles Puyol had both hands around Nesta. Kuipers' own post-match comment did not help Milan's mood: 'The match went as we expected it to go.'

The law as written in 2012

Law 12 in 2011/12 listed holding as a direct free-kick offence and a penalty when committed inside the area 'provided the ball is in play'. The referees' guidelines on holding at set pieces asked referees to intervene early, warn players, and caution persistent offenders before the ball was in play; once it was in play, holding in the box was a penalty. The written law therefore supports both readings, and turns the case on a timing question a referee had to settle in real time: had the corner been taken when the pull that mattered began?

The aftermath

Massimiliano Allegri: 'Sometimes the referee made too many concessions. I don't know if it proved decisive. We made a mistake on the first penalty but he helped on the second.' Ibrahimović: 'I'm just disgusted. They are the best team in the world but at 1–1 and, playing with intelligence, you can do something. In my opinion it wasn't fair.' Nesta acknowledged the tug. Guardiola: 'You can talk all you want about referees but that makes it five straight semifinals.' Barcelona lost that semifinal to Chelsea, after a Messi penalty miss, which the defence files alongside this one.

Cast your ruling

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The Corner-Pull Penalty
Vote on the corner-pull penalty · 0 jurors

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Sources

Frequently asked

Were the Barcelona penalties against Milan in 2012 fair?

The first, for Antonini's foul on Messi in the 11th minute, was largely accepted, including by Allegri. The second, for Nesta holding Busquets at a corner in the 41st, is the disputed one: the contact was real, but critics argued it began before the ball was in play and that Puyol was holding Nesta on the same corner. The jury votes on the second.

What did the referee say?

Björn Kuipers said after the match: 'The match went as we expected it to go.' Through Seedorf, he explained that he had already warned Nesta about pulling in the box before the corner.

What did Ibrahimović say?

'I'm just disgusted. In my opinion it wasn't fair.' He also said 'the ball wasn't in play and he called it' and that without the referee 'the game would have been 50–50'.

Was there a decision against Barcelona?

Early in the second half an Ibrahimović penalty appeal against Mascherano was waved away. The bigger counterweight is what came next: Barcelona lost the semifinal to Chelsea after Messi missed a penalty.

Can I replay the second leg as Milan?

Yes. The VAR Replay scenario starts at 1–2 after the second penalty with Iniesta scripted for the 53rd; two Milan away goals make it 3–3 and send Milan through.

More from the Barcelona Files

VARgentina is a satirical, fan-voted archive of controversial football decisions involving Lionel Messi’s teams. It documents disputed refereeing decisions, contemporary criticism and community opinion. It does not claim proven corruption, match-fixing, bribery or personal wrongdoing by Lionel Messi, FC Barcelona, Argentina, FIFA, UEFA or match officials unless explicitly established by a reliable official source. Results reflect fan opinion, not verified wrongdoing.