In times of technology in football, a matter that is in principle objective, such as whether or not a ball has completely crossed the goal line, continues to be flammable material. And no less than after a classic that Barcelona is now threatening to ask for a repeat. According to the audios published this Monday afternoon by the federation, the VAR referee, Sánchez Martínez, informed his field partner, Soto Grado, that there was “no evidence”, after reviewing all the cameras, that the action by Lamine Yamal off goal.
In the midst of the debate regarding the different shots, the episode recalled a fact: in the League there is no goal technology, unlike the rest of the main European championships and continental tournaments. This is what Soto Grado warned Gündogan and other players while the VAR reviewed the action in a long wait. The clubs, gathered around the employers’ association, have so far rejected the implementation of this mechanism, which consists of a camera system similar to that of tennis to find out if a ball has gone out of bounds. The first reaction of the president of LaLiga, Javier Tebas, abounded in this negative. “No comments,” he wrote on social media at half-time of the match along with several news screenshots referring to errors in goal technology in other countries.
The issue is not new in Spain. It comes from behind because the League has been left alone in not incorporating it. The Premier began in 2013; the Bundesliga and Ligue 1, in 2015; and the tournaments organized by UEFA in 2016. The first argument was that it would cost about four million, a lot for the few situations that occur in a season.
In recent months, however, the justification has not been economic, but rather utility. Due to a controversy over a possible goal by the Celta Bamba player against Mallorca (the referee gave a goal – they were 0-0 – and the VAR corrected it; they finished 0-1 for the Balearic Islands), Tebas pointed to the reliability of the system . “The referees have a lot of experience in those plays. We have had the camera on the goal line for many years. Goal technology is not an economic issue, but rather a matter of use. In a season there are four or five actions of this type. 99% of the time you can see if it goes in or not. Where there are errors is with the goal technology. In the Premier it has happened. We do not plan to establish it,” he argued in Movistar.
The installation would have to be approved by the clubs and the Technical Committee of Referees would be in charge of its application. From this body they remember that the measure would not imply anything for them because half (10 of 20) are international and already use it in European competitions. “It means setting the clock (where you are notified if the ball has completely crossed the line) and that’s it,” they point out.
Tebas referred this Sunday to documented failures in other Leagues with goal technology. For example, when the system did not validate a very clear goal by Sheffield against Aston Villa in 2020 (the Hawk-Eye company apologized), or when in a Mainz-Arminia in 2022 the opposite happened: it gave a goal that was not and the VAR had to correct. In his opinion, video arbitration is sufficient. No more is needed.
The Barcelona squad complained about Yamal’s action – “if we want to be the best League, we have to move forward and put in technology,” claimed Xavi – but this Monday the Barça president, Joan Laporta, raised the tone of the protest many degrees. , although without requesting the installation of goal technology. His darts were against the “misuse of the VAR”.
“We want to be sure of what happened, and that is why we will request from the Technical Committee of Referees and the federation all the images and audio generated by (Yamal’s) play. If the club understands that an error occurred, as we think, we will take all appropriate actions, without ruling out judicial ones. If it is confirmed that it was a legal goal, as we think, we will ask for a replay of the match, as has happened in some European match due to a VAR error,” Laporta explained.
The federation made public the audios of that play and other controversies in the middle of the afternoon, although it clarified that they had been preparing it for weeks. In them you can hear the conversation between the VAR referee and the on-field referee, in which the former tells him that there is no evidence that the Barcelona player’s shot crossed the entire goal line.
“Lunin’s body is covering us up. Wait a second, we’re still looking for the evidence. This (camera) is not worth it to me, neither is that one, neither is this one, neither is this one, neither is this one, neither is this one”, Sánchez Martínez sang to Soto Grado. “We are in no hurry, a very important decision, all the cameras,” he responded. “Don’t shoot anymore, we confirm that there are no more cameras,” they concluded from the video referee room. “César (Soto Grado), we are going to resume with a corner kick. We do not have any evidence that the ball has entered,” Sánchez Martínez concluded.
In parallel to Laporta’s institutional video, his communications advisor, Jordi Finestres, published on networks: “If with 40 cameras and with VAR we experience scandals like yesterday’s, I can’t imagine what the generations of Barcelona fans suffered in the decades of Franco’s rule. “, without TV or with two general shots, with a press under control and federative bodies favorable to the club-state.”
The season ends for Frenkie De Jong
The use of VAR, in any case, was not Barcelona’s only problem at the Bernabéu: Frenkie de Jong left the field injured and in tears before the end of the first half. This Monday morning the Barça club confirmed that the Dutchman suffers a sprain in his right ankle. It is No. 21’s second injury in the same area and he says goodbye to the season, waiting to speed up his recovery so he can participate with his team in the European Championship in Germany.
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