The leader enjoys his first hours at the summit of the Championship after his hard-fought victory in San Sebastián between satisfaction with his duty and amazement at the criticism of the referee on the other side of the airlift (including doubts from Setien on the use of the VAR). The phrase is direct and diaphanous: “It is amazing that the three hits of the referee and the VAR are criticized and mocked. For the first time, it is punished to have applied the Regulation correctly ”. The famous three plays of Anoeta have been seen and reviewed dozens of times at the club and it is increasingly clear that the complaints from Barcelona are completely meaningless.
“Vinicius's penalty shows clearly that Llorente touches him when he is going to shoot at goal. Clear penalty ”. Iturralde held the same criteria in The spar. Regarding the play of the goal annulled to Januzaj, in the offices of Valdebebas they remember with good judgment that last season Modric was annulled an almost identical goal in the Bernabéu against Celta. Modric shot from outside the box, Varane was offside and did not touch the ball. But Martínez Munuera, just the same referee who was yesterday at the VAR, annulled him because he considered that the French made it difficult for the goalkeeper Rubén Blanco to see. “But of course, if Madrid is canceled, nothing happens because that does not generate controversy but joy”. Even so There is an aerial shot from behind the Madrid goal (the one included in this information), in which Merino is clearly seen to be in line with Courtois's diagonal vision when shooting Januzaj. That is what the VAR sanctions. Interference from an opponent who is in an offside position. And Merino is …
And in the third action, that of Benzema's goal, there are several shots in which Karim is seen to control the ball with his shoulder. “If it were to annul it, it would have been to compensate, but the referee and the VAR demonstrated that the Regulations are there to apply it,” they conclude.. In addition, I add, the VAR did not order to revise in the first part a penalty on Marcelo when he was going to shoot on goal. In Anoeta's locker room, the Brazilian did complain that this action was not at least reviewed.
Also, It will be necessary to remind Barcelona that they did not complain about the VAR when in the December Classic at the Camp Nou two very clear penalties on Varane (one by Lenglet and the other by Rakitic) were not indicated or that a goal to Bale was canceled that same day by a millimeter offside of Mendy, which was not clear in the image given by the television production. Or when Barça beat Real Sociedad at Camp Nou thanks to a late penalty signaled by an alleged punishable hand by Le Normand. Or the expulsion of Germán Sánchez, totally disproportionate and exaggerated, which allowed Barça to unleash its duel with Granada, which was on its way to the 0-0 final at the Setien premiere. Or Lenglet's illegal goal, relying on the jump with both hands on the Betis defender (Bartra), which allowed Setién's men to win at Villamarín. Or the penalty suffered by Vinicius in Villarreal not whistled (the whites only tied). Or the clear penalty for grabbing Brahim in Mallorca that went unpunished (Madrid lost to the Balearic Islands). Or Feddal's hand at the Bernabéu inside the area, without punishment, that would have broken the tie with Betis. Or Levante's two hands in his area, in Orriols, when Madrid ended up losing the game the day Hazard was injured. Here there is coffee for everyone, but it seems that Piqué only remembers it when Barça leaves two points in Pizjuán. That is not the fault of VAR or Madrid. Perhaps it is the price to be paid for being leaders and having regained the status of favorites to win this highly contested League, punctuated by the steam of arbitration controversy.