Girona‘s winning goal against Barcelona last week should have been disallowed, the Spanish Referee’s Committee [CTA] said on Tuesday.
Fran Beltrán struck in the 86th-minute to secure a shock 2-1 victory for Girona at Montilivi on Feb. 16, but Barça felt the effort should have been ruled out for a foul on Jules Koundé in the build-up.
On-loan Manchester City attacker Claudio Echeverri stepped on the Frenchman’s foot in the move which led to Beltrán’s goal, with the CTA and the Spanish Football Federation [RFEF] confirming VAR should have intervened.
“In an individual duel outside the penalty area, a Girona forward steps on a Barcelona defender’s foot with his studs just before laying the ball off to a teammate,” the RFEF and CTA said.
“The VAR reviewed the entire attacking phase and, considering it an incident open to the referee’s interpretation, upheld the on-pitch decision and validated the goal.
“‘Law 12: Fouls and Misconduct’ clarifies that a reckless stamp constitutes a foul and a caution. Contesting the ball does not exempt a player from committing an offence.
“If a player steps on an opponent using excessive force, it must be sanctioned. According to the CTA of the RFEF, the Girona forward removes the defender from the defensive action, and the infringement should therefore be punished with a foul and a yellow card.
“VAR should intervene, as this involves a clear and obvious error, and advise the referee to change the decision.”
The contested decision came just days after Barça had sent a letter to the RFEF and the CTA complaining of various refereeing and VAR inconsistencies after a Pau Cubarsí goal had been ruled out for offside — following a seven-minute review — in the 4-0 Copa del Rey semifinal first leg defeat to Atlético Madrid.
Allowing Beltrán’s goal to stand only served to increase the Catalan club’s anger, although Flick said he didn’t want to use it as an excuse because his team had performed just as poorly as the officials.
Raphinha, meanwhile, bemoaned that Barça play under different rules to other teams after defeat to Girona saw them surrender top spot in LaLiga to Real Madrid.
However, they returned to the summit this past weekend after beating Levante 3-0 at Spotify Camp Nou one day after Madrid’s eight-game winning run in the league had been ended by a 2-1 defeat at Osasuna.
With 13 games to play, Barça have 61 points, one more than Madrid, with the two teams due to meet in a potentially title-deciding Clásico at Camp Nou at the beginning of May.
