Real Madrid’s first defeat had to be accompanied by a controversy over refereeing. This time, it concerns the penalty missed by Kylian Mbappé in added time, which cost his team dearly on the Betis pitch (0-1).
The subject of the debate? Marc Bartra’s position. The Sevillian defender, who came to clear the ball after his goalkeeper’s stop, appears to be encroaching into the penalty area. Which could have forced VAR to intervene, to give the penalty to be withdrawn.
In reality, even though Marc Bartra’s body is inside the penalty area, his left foot is slightly outside. And that’s all that matters. It doesn’t matter if a player is leaning forward, only the position of his feet, and only his feet touching the ground, is taken into account.
Here is what the regulation says, relayed by Marca.
“A player is considered to have encroached on the penalty area if, at the time the penalty is taken, one or both of his feet are inside the area or on the area line (including the semi-circle). When assessing possible encroachment, the projection of the players’ bodies is not taken into account. »
Marc Bartra knew the rule
Marc Bartra, the most advanced defender in this image, has his left foot out and his right foot in the air. Only the left foot, which touches the ground, is taken into account.
Everything happened a few centimeters away, but this intervention owes nothing to chance. Marc Bartra was well aware of the rule on this situation. “ A few matches ago, Gaya
made this little jump. I asked a referee friend if it was allowed, and he explained the rule to me: if the foot is in the air, you don’t have to start again.”explained the former Barcelona player.
