MADRID (AP) — A controversial VAR call against Real Madrid this weekend resonated long after Spain’s powerhouse side avoided an embarrassing setback against a team at the bottom of the Spanish league.
Madrid benefited from three second-half video reviews and scored deep in stoppage time to erase a two-goal deficit. Defeated last place Almeria 3-2. They avoided dropping points at home on Sunday to hurt their title chances.
The decision overturned was a close game that was open to interpretation, including two handball incidents, but by the time the third VAR decision gave the Spanish giants a disadvantage against their inferior opponent, the game was already over. It was one of the most discussed matches in Spanish football. recent years.
“Someone decided that we can’t win here,” said Almeria defender Marc Poubil.
Defender Gonzalo Melero added: “It feels like the game was stolen from us.”
Director Gaiska Garitano “didn’t have the words to summarize what happened.” He said he did not want to say much to avoid sanctions.
The complaints went beyond those of the Saudi-owned club, Almeria, who missed the chance to end their winning streak in the Spanish league at 21 games.
On Monday, Barcelona-based sports daily Mundo Deportivo ran a front-page headline: “Robbery.” “The referees will give Madrid the victory.”
Barcelona president Joan Laporta strongly criticized the incident during the Madrid game.
“What happened at the Bernabéu was shameful,” he said on Monday. “The refereeing community must respond to the pressures placed on referees this season. If they don’t, we will be very concerned.”
“Everyone saw what happened” at the Bernabéu, Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez said.
“As I’ve already said, it will be very difficult to win in this league,” Xavi said after Barcelona’s 4-2 win against Real Betis late on Sunday. “There’s something I don’t understand.”
The rivalry between Barcelona and Madrid often devolves into refereeing disputes, with both teams accusing the other of taking advantage of referees. Last year, Barcelona was formally accused of paying millions of euros over several years to a company affiliated with the vice president of the Spanish Football Referees Committee.
Commentators on Real Madrid’s TV channel said justice was served on Sunday and that all the decisions made by VAR were correct. Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti said after the match that he understood why Almeria were upset, but he felt all the decisions were correct.
Madrid were losing 0-2 in the second half when VAR decisions started to take effect. A penalty kick was awarded for handball inside the area, making the score 2-1, and Almeria’s goal, which almost made it 3-1, was canceled out due to a foul in the build-up, allowing them to level the score at 2-2 after the goal. Vinicius Junior’s handball was initially disallowed, but the video referee claimed it had fallen on his shoulder.
The Spanish league released audio clips of VAR discussions, which it has started doing after every game this year, but Almería complained that the referee was not shown the best viewing angle. He also said a potential foul against one of the players was not properly analyzed during the review.
Former referee Alfonso Pérez Brule told sports newspaper Marca that the three VAR decisions were “a borderline act, subject to many interpretations, enough to prevent the referee from overturning the original decision. That’s what I think.”
Even if the final result remains the same, the debate over this call-up is likely to continue in Spain for some time, meaning Madrid will continue to fight for the title, while Almeria will miss out on their first win.
“Please do not expect us to publish a match report this time,” Almería said on one of its social media channels. “It’s all clear what happened.”
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