‘Suspended’—Barcelona Handed Gut Punch by Retrospective VAR Ruling

There are set to be major repercussions after La Liga’s revelation.

Jules Kounde was at the center of controversy against Girona. | Josep LAGO/AFP/Getty Images

The Spanish Refereeing Committee (CTA) have admitted that Girona’s winning goal against Barcelona was wrongly awarded and the video assistant referee (VAR) who made this error has been “suspended.”

Somehow Barcelona were still level at 1–1 with Girona on Monday night when Claudio Echeverri started wiggling his way towards goal in the final five minutes. Jules Koundé stuck out a leg which the Manchester City loanee unmistakably trod on. Marc Bernal stopped playing to complain to on-pitch official César Soto Grado but Fran Beltrán kept his focus to fire in the game’s decisive goal.

VAR David Gálvez Rascón reviewed the footage but let the goal stand—much to the fury of Barcelona. As it transpires, that outrage was justified.

The CTA consulted a VAR-specialized panel made up of 15 former referees who all agreed that Echeverri had committed a foul on Kounde in the buildup to Beltrán’s goal. Gálvez Rascón has been subsequently slapped with a complete suspension from all matches for the foreseeable future, as reported by AS.

The 44-year-old Madrid-born official has intriguingly never officiated a top-flight La Liga match as an on-pitch official and, up until this season, had never previously sat in the VAR booth at a level above Spain’s second tier.

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Barcelona Cry Conspiracy

Raphinha has not been impressed by Barcelona’s refereeing. | Pedro Salado/Getty Images

Barcelona manager Hansi Flick was so furious with his team’s defending—which should really have given up a legal goal long before Beltrán’s incorrect thump—that he refrained from criticizing the officials. Raphinha couldn’t quite bite his tongue.

“Well, we have many things to improve, but not just us,” the bitter Brazilian seethed on social media. “It’s very complicated when the rules are different, whether they’re in your favor or against you, but if we have to play against everyone to win, so be it... We’ll do it.”

Joan Laporta centered his presidential campaign around Monday’s verified injustice. “I am convinced we will win La Liga,” he declared. “It will be a league fought against everything and everyone, because they do not only want to beat us on the field. They want to defeat us off the field as well, it is obvious. There are many who do not want us to win it, certain power circles are not aligned with us.”

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How Costly Could VAR Error Be?

Barcelona players were left stunned at Montilivi. | David Ramirez/Soccrates/Getty Images

In a league with two runaway leaders who are both obviously flawed, La Liga’s title race could come down to fine margins. Opta’s supercomputer predicts Barcelona will finish the season with somewhere between 87 and 88 points, while Real Madrid’s final tally is thought to be narrowly below 89. In that context, one point is a chasm.

Barcelona finished four points clear of Real Madrid last term while five of the last 12 La Liga crowns have been decided by just a single win.

Should this year’s title come down to the same slender margin, minds will undoubtedly circle back to Catalonia on one night in February.

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