Barça cry foul over refereeing after Clàsico loss to Real Madrid (2-3) !
Beaten by a narrow margin at the end of the match by Real Madrid (3-2), FC Barcelona is feeling sore. After the game, refereeing decisions are on everyone’s minds following a « ghost » goal that wasn’t awarded to the Blaugranas early in the match…
This Sunday, April 21, was marked by the Clasico in Spain. The league leaders, Real Madrid, welcomed FC Barcelona to their lair for the 32nd round of La Liga. The Merengues, who held an eight-point lead, aimed to secure a positive result in the title race against the Blaugranas, who were determined to seize their chance.
The match started off strong with goals from both sides, with Andreas Christensen (6th minute) scoring for FC Barcelona and Vinicius Junior (13th minute) for Real Madrid. But the game would take another turn a few minutes later.
As we approached the half-hour mark, Raphinha took a curling free-kick that swung back towards Andriy Lunin’s goal. The Ukrainian goalkeeper pushed the ball away, which had appeared to cross into the Madrid net, and everyone wondered whether the ball had completely crossed the line or not.
Since Goal Line Technology doesn’t exist in Spain, the video assistant referee couldn’t make a decisive call, and the goal was disallowed. In the end, the match concluded with a nail-biting 3-2 victory for Real Madrid over FC Barcelona, and understandably, this contentious situation, which could have altered the course of the match, raises questions on the other side of the Pyrenees.
Before the end of the match, La Liga president Javier Tebas stirred controversy by tweeting the following message: « no comment. » Accompanying these two words were images of articles discussing errors made by Goal Line Technology in France, Italy, Germany, and England. The president of the Spanish league attracted the ire of his critics. On the Catalan press side, the final whistle wasn’t blown as they were already discussing a refereeing scandal.
César Barrenechea Montero, an arbitration analyst for Mundo Deportivo and former professional referee, pointed out this situation: « In this case, what is incredible is that there is no camera assisting the VAR in making a clear decision, since in the images that have been posted, it is not seen with complete clarity. Whether the ball enters or not at all, the only thing left to do is to trust the judgment of the decision-maker, but knowing that it is a serious mistake not to have goal-line technology in La Liga ».
