Controversy in El Clasico as VAR denies Barcelona 'goal' when ball looked over
There was incredible controversy in Sunday night's El Clasico fixtures between Real Madrid and Barcelona after the latter were denied a goal when the ball looked over the line.
Barcelona went 1-0 up at the Santiago Bernabeu through Andreas Christensen before Vinicius Jr equalised with a penalty.
But the Blaugrana thought they had regained the lead in the 27th minute.
Lamine Yamal produced a clever flick from a corner that caught out goalkeeper Andriy Lunin.
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He reacted late and parried the ball away before Federico Valverde but it looked like it had crossed the line from multiple angles.
However, despite the protests from the visiting players, a lengthy VAR review ruled that the ball had not crossed the line. Incredibly, unlike all leading leagues around the world, La Liga does not have goal-line technology and so there was no definitive way of knowing.
In the Premier League, the technology sees the referee receive a signal to their watch telling them whether it is a goal or not.
Barça can't possibly have gone any closer to retaking the lead! 😱
— Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV) April 21, 2024
After a lengthy VAR review, the decision remains no goal though ❌ pic.twitter.com/YhzwxSOi8j
Yet there is no such technology in the Spanish top flight, with El Larguero reporting that La Liga president Javier Tebas does not want to pay the '£2.6 million' it costs.
It's not the first time Barca have felt aggrieved by a lack of goal-line technology as a clear goal from Luis Suarez was not awarded against Real Betis in 2017.
The game finished 1-1, while there was a carbon copy incident in a win over Valencia.
La Liga is the only major league without goal-line technology and the decision to not implement it beggars belief given the margin of error it eliminates for crucial calls.
The Premier League is in its tenth season using Hawk-Eye technology to determine whether the whole of the ball is over the line, having first brought it in for the 2013/14 campaign.
Topics: Real Madrid, Barcelona
Josh Lawless