FC Barcelona president criticizes VAR

FC Barcelona president, Josep Maria Bartomeu has criticized the Video Assistant Referee in LaLiga and has sensationally claimed that it has favoured La Liga leaders, Real Madrid since football restarted.

Real have won all seven games played after the season’s restart following the outbreak of the COVID-19 which halted proceedings in March.

Los Blancos defeated Athletic Club de Bilbao a 1-0 victory courtesy of a Sergio Ramos penalty which was awarded in the 76th minute penalty via VAR.

Zinedine Zidane’s side are now four points ahead of Barcelona with four games to go.

Referee Jose Gonzalez Gonzalez awarded a penalty for Dani Garcia’s foul on Marcelo after consulting the pitchside monitor, before failing to award a penalty when Ramos caught Garcia at the other end moments later – and it was those decisions which were the subject of Bartomeu’s frustration.

Maria Bartomeu has now spoken about the Video Assistant Referee in LaLiga, claiming it has favoured Real Madrid since football restarted.

“I watched (the game in) San Mames match until almost the end of the second half,” Bartomeu said after Barcelona’s 4-1 victory against Villarreal on Sunday night. 
“I feel bad because we have the best league in the world and VAR after coronavirus isn’t fair. It has changed some results and always favours the same team.’ 
Madrid’s victory on Sunday was not the first time since the restart that Zidane’s side have been aided by the intervention of video technology. 
In a 2-1 victory against Real Sociedad on June 21, Madrid were awarded a penalty via VAR and had three controversial decisions all go their way.

Vinicius won the penalty that put them ahead after his legs tangled with Sociedad defender Diego Llorente and he had been knocked off balance as he shot, but there would have been few complaints had it not been given.

Real Sociedad thought they had equalised when Adnan Januzaj found the back of the net but Mikel Merino was adjudged to have been offside in the build up, a decision former Real Madrid and Barcelona player Bernd Schuster called ‘ridiculous’.

Then came a third controversial incident as Benzema turned in the second goal, and eventual winner, on 70 minutes.  The Frenchman had controlled the ball with his shoulder before firing through a crowd of players and into the net, with Sociedad players claiming a hand had been used.

The week before that, Valencia thought they had taken the lead against Madrid before VAR intervened for an offside call – Zidane’s side went on to win the game 3-0. 

Madrid’s win on Sunday maintained their 100 per cent winning record since Spanish football restarted in the middle of last month, winning seven from seven games.