Fate turned its back on Eric García, as he did in the final of the Nations League between Spain and France last October. the defender, in his attempt to cut off Napoli’s attacking play at 0-1, he touches the ball and enables an opponent who was in an offside situation. Xavi Hernández’s men claimed the Romanian referee Istvan Kovacs, who stopped the match to consult the play with the VAR, although he did not need to approach the monitor. The Barça player went to the locker room at the break asking for explanations and Kovacs.
In the final of the Nations League the play was identical and ended with the goal that gave the victory to France. On that occasion, Eric García himself assured after the end of the game that the referee told him that he touched the ball and that he intended to play. “He throws the ball behind his back, I shoot, I touch it with the cue and Mbappé is offside. The referee tells me that I touched it and I intend to play. He tells me that I have to move away and let Mbappé control the ball. What this is the rule. I think it’s clearly offside and that a defender in life can move away from there. It hurts…”, affirmed the Barcelona centre-back.
Possible penalty at 49′
Already in the second half, Eric García returned to become the protagonist of the controversy of the meeting. In minute 49, the azulgrana grab Osimhen inside the area in his attempt to prevent him from finishing off an Insigne cross from the left. Iturralde Gonzalez, referee of Diario AS, said in Carrusel Deportivo that it is not a VAR play because the ball does not reach the players, but it is a play in which a penalty can be awarded.
Barcelona’s tie, with VAR
The 1-1 came in the 58th minute after converting Ferran Torres a penalty indicated after consulting the VAR. The visitor Juan Jesús cut a cross from Adama Traoré with his hand inside the area. about this play Iturralde González pointed out “he is going to go see it, but he has to whistle it. The game stopped badly because Napoli have the ball in attack, imagine that it doesn’t call for a hand now…, but it will. For very little, but it is hand”.