The CTA supports the VAR´s actions in the Real Madrid-FC Barcelona match

Penalty on Lamine Yamal

In the first controversial situation, the referee awarded a penalty on Lamine Yamal after a clash with Mbappé. The VAR indicated to review the action, and the CTA explained that Lamine Yamal "anticipates, gains position, and goes to contest the ball; the Madrid forward hits him while trying to shoot, the action is very quick, and the referee interprets that the contact is the other way around, awarding a penalty in favor of Real Madrid." Television images show that Mbappé commits a foul in the "hit in the contest for the ball, and the foul is by the one who commits the infraction." The CTA´s conclusion was that, after the VAR´s intervention, a "clear and manifest error" was corrected by calling a foul in favor of Barcelona, fully complying with the regulations.

Hands of Eric Garcia

The hands of Eric Garcia in the second half were more debated, leading to a penalty for Real Madrid that Mbappé did not convert thanks to Szczesny´s intervention. Although the ball hit the defender after a rebound, the CTA considers that "the ball is directed to the defender with no options to play it legally; the defender makes a clear extra movement with the left arm to cut the play, the referee does not appreciate the action and signals a corner, the arm movement is intentional and unnatural, seeking to increase the body volume to prevent the ball´s advance." Therefore, the CTA concluded that "the initial decision not to award a penalty was incorrect; the VAR´s decision was justified because there was a clear and manifest error. After the review on the monitor, the final decision to award a penalty in favor of Real Madrid was correct."

Final evaluation of the VAR

The VAR, directed in this match by Iglesias Villanueva, acted correctly, although Eric Garcia´s action still leaves doubts due to it occurring after a rebound, and the voluntariness is debatable. It will be necessary to observe whether this criterion is maintained in similar situations in the future.