Controversy and FC Barcelona are two terms that seem to be going hand-in-hand these days. Previously it was the infamous Negreira case that was designed to harm the reputation of the Catalan club. Yet, despite Barcelona apparently being accused of paying referees, they continue to be harmed by them.
This rather ironic display of officiating is not hard to see through or find true reasoning within. In fact, it becomes even more clear when two similar instances for both Real Madrid and Barcelona are treated completely differently and have opposite consequences attached to them.
As highlighted by Mundo Deportivo, the two scenarios being compared are Jules Kounde’s ‘stomp’ from the game against Rayo Vallecano and Real Madrid’s recent outing against Real Betis at the Santiago Bernabeu. Both games ended in victory for Barcelona and Real Madrid, but they both have at least one moment that may have changed the complexion of the game and those officiating decisions have also caused a stir online.
For Barcelona, it was the accidental toe stomp that Jules Kounde made on a pressing Rayo Vallecano player that ended up in referee Cesar Soto Grado chalking off the subsequent goal scored by Robert Lewandowski following the advice and instructions from his VAR assistant referee.
Despite managing to get the ball first and only coming into contact with the other player with his standing foot by accident and without any intent behind it, Kounde was penalized for that ‘foul’, and the entire buildup that led to Lewandowski’s goal was considered null.
In Real Madrid’s case, however, a similar piece of contact between Los Blancos goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and Betis player Aitor Ruibal led to no consequences for the Belgian shot-stopper. Instead, neither the on-field referee Javier Alberola Rojas nor his assistant made any efforts to recheck that play.
This complete lack of consistency in officiating is exactly what VAR was brought in to fix and reduce the chances of happening. Yet, it seems that the officials running this new technology are the same that used to lead to discrepancies like this in the first place and nothing has changed or improved about it.
Had Courtois been penalized for his action, a penalty could have gone to Real Betis and perhaps by halftime, the score would not have been a stalemate with no goals. Similarly, if Barcelona did not have their goal chalked off the team would have a comfortable comeback rather than having to rely on Dani Olmo to score a late winner for the team.
Ultimately, these decisions have consequences in the long run and these referees remain inconsistent with their calls. For Barcelona, the consequences of these calls have not been too kind in the past and it would be beneficial if they did not hinder their progress once again this season despite their promising start following their recent victory over Real Valladolid.
