This Sunday April 21 was marked by the Clàsico in Spain. The leader, Real Madrid, hosted FC Barcelona in its lair for the 32nd day of La Liga. The Merengues, who were eight points ahead, wanted to obtain a positive result in the title race against the Blaugranas who intended to play their luck bravely. The game started strong with goals from both sides from Andreas Christensen (6th) for FC Barcelona and Vinicius Junior (13th) for Real Madrid. But the match would take another turn a few minutes later.
As we approached the half hour mark, Raphinha kicked an inbound free kick which would return to Andriy Lunin’s goal. The Ukrainian goalkeeper pushed back the ball which had entered the Madrid goal, and everyone wondered whether the ball had completely crossed the line or not. While Goal Line Technology does not exist in Spain, the video refereeing could not make a decision and the goal was disallowed. Finally the match ended with a 3-2 victory for Real Madrid against FC Barcelona and logically this contentious situation which could have changed the course of the match raises questions on the other side of the Pyrenees.
The Catalan press has revealed…
Even before the end of the meeting, La Liga president Javier Tebas ignited the situation by tweeting the following message: “no comment”. Accompanying these two words with images of articles evoking errors made by Goal Line Technology in France, Italy, Germany and England, the president of the Spanish championship has attracted the wrath of his detractors. As for the Catalan press, before the final whistle had blown there was already talk of a refereeing scandal. Arbitration analyst for Mundo Deportivo and former professional referee, César Barrenechea Montero, pointed out this situation: “in this case, what is incredible is that there is no camera that helps the VAR to make a clear decision, given that in the images that have been posted we do not see it with total clarity. Whether the ball goes in or not at all, the only thing left to do is to trust the judgment of whoever makes the decision, but knowing that it is a big mistake not to have goal technology in the Liga.”
He also pointed out other situations, notably the one leading to the penalty converted by Vinicius Junior at the start of the game: “in my opinion it is not a penalty from Cubarsí to Lucas Vázquez. I think the Madrid player is fooling the referee, Soto Grado, who whistles because he sees contact. But contact is sought by the Madrid player with the Barcelona defender.” The Catalan media also insisted on a complicated evening of arbitration for César Soto Grado. “The refereeing errors and the referee prevent Barça from hanging on to La Liga. The Blaugrana held their own against the Whites, but a highly controversial penalty against them and a phantom goal in their favor which was not awarded was too heavy a burden.announced Mundo Deportivo in his summary of the meeting. An assumed posture of the Catalan press and which finds echo in the Blaugrana ranks.
…The FC Barcelona locker room too!
Goalkeeper of the Blaugranas, Marc-André ter Stegen came off his hinges at the end of the game. At the microphone of Movistar +the German goalkeeper had very sharp words towards this “phantom goal” situation following Raphinha’s corner. “I can’t find words to explain what happened on the goal line. It’s a shame for world football. This world (that of football) invests a lot of money, but not for what is important. Words fail me. I don’t understand why there is no money to implement the technology that other leagues have.”, he said, quite annoyed. He also felt that the penalty obtained at the start of the match was quite generous. “Lucas Vázquez was smart on the penalty, I think he tried to look for it”said the former Borussia Mönchengladbach still so heated.
His coach Xavi was not calmer, quite the contrary. The Spanish technician did not chew after the match and considers that the referee put his team at a disadvantage: “It’s a shame ! Yesterday, you asked me about the referee and I said that I would have liked him to go unnoticed and be right… In the end it’s neither one nor the other! » Happy with his team’s performance while not losing his temper over the refereeing, Xavi wanted to highlight the performance of his team rather than the refereeing afterwards: “We aim to continue fighting for second place. I’m proud of the team. With the match we played, the normal thing is to win, but there are situations that we cannot control. We deserved the victory and now we have to think about the next match against Valencia. FC Barcelona has a bad attitude towards refereeing and the digestion of events promises to be complicated.
