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April 23, 2024
La Liga is the only top-five league in Europe without goal-line technology. In response to Barcelona supporters’ criticism of LaLiga for not having the technology, chief Javier Tebas shared multiple reports of previous incidents on X, stating that the technology was shown to be inaccurate and that he had “no comment.”
Suppose Lamine Yamal’s “phantom” goal against Real Madrid on Sunday should have stood for any reason. In that case, Barcelona president Joan Laporta has called for the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) to replay the match.
After Real keeper Andrey Lunin cleared Yamal’s effort in the 28th minute, it looked to have crossed the line. VAR investigated it for several minutes. The goal was ruled out, and VAR gave Barca a corner.
Laporta began her Monday statement with these words: “As FC Barcelona’s president, I would like to express my displeasure with the way a tool like VAR was misused in one of the most significant games on the international calendar, which marked our calendar the day before.
“As you well know, I have never been a great defender of VAR because I believe that, as it is applied, it takes away football’s spontaneity. But what I am in favour of is that, now that we have it, we always use to avoid errors that can lead to unfair decisions.”
Real Madrid twice equalized after goals from Andreas Christensen and Fermin Lopez had put Barcelona ahead, thanks to goals from Vinicius Jr. and Lucas Vazquez.
Real Madrid defeated the Catalan team for the fourth time in a row thanks to a goal from Jude Bellingham in the 91st minute. With six games left, it will be challenging for second-place Barcelona to overcome an 11-point deficit.
Laporta continued: “In this appearance I am making, I am not only bringing together the unhappiness of Barca fans with the management of VAR yesterday [Sunday] but also, I am highlighting the fact that even though it is a tool that has been used for a while, it continues to create confusions with contradictory criteria according to matches and teams.”
“Barcelona would also like to highlight the power of our competition and that we are successful and followed by millions of fans around the world, but we cannot be exempt from criticism when the use of VAR undermines our product.”
Laporta’s lengthy statement added: “We understand the difficulty faced by officials, but it is for that reason that such tools exist (like VAR), which should help the competition be fairer, not the other way around.
Several contentious events occurred yesterday, but one stands out as particularly important and has the power to alter the match’s outcome.
“I am referring to the ‘phantom goal’ by Lamine. As a club we want to be sure about what happened, and it is for that reason that from FCB we will make an immediate request to the Technical Refereeing Committee at the Spanish Football Federation for a comprehensive collection of footage and audio from the incident.”
“If once this documentation has been analysed, the club understands that an error was made in the revision of the incident, we will take all available measure to reverse the situation, without discounting, obviously, any necessary legal action.”
“If it is confirmed that it was a legal goal, we will move ahead and we do not discount requesting that the game be replayed, just as has happened in another game in Europe due to a VAR error. Finally, I would like to underline that despite our focus on this incident, we also disagree with various others that occurred during the game, and that could have been reviewed using VAR.”
Laporta is referring to a match in January when it was declared that a video assistant referee (VAR) error would force a full replay of the Belgian Pro League match between Anderlecht and Genk.
Based on a misapplication of the game’s laws, the nation’s professional football disciplinary council upheld a Genk appeal.
Laporta hopes that decision—which is reportedly the first of its kind in European football—has established a precedent. Genk successfully appealed the refereeing body’s initial decision that there would be no replay, with the senior group upholding Genk’s request for another game.
The only top-five European league without goal-line technology is La Liga. Chief Javier Tebas responded on X, sharing multiple reports of previous incidents where the technology was shown to be inaccurate, responding with a “no comment” after Barcelona fans criticized LaLiga for lacking the technology.
Barcelona, eliminated from the Champions League the previous week, will play Valencia in La Liga on April 29.
When questioned about the contentious events at the Santiago Bernabeu, Xavi told reporters, “We can’t control them. These are refereeing actions.”
The team is playing really well, and we competed really well. We outperformed Real on their home field, and we absolutely deserved the three points.
“My feeling today is one of maximum injustice. Goes without saying, everyone saw it,” he added. “My feeling is that today’s match was not fair.”
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Katarzyna Nowak is a seasoned writer with over five years of experience in editorial content, news reporting, and football sportsbook app reviews. As an author for Football News Today, she combines her deep understanding of the sports betting industry with a passion for football, delivering insightful and accurate content that keeps readers informed and engaged.
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