Iturralde González's Slip in Barça-Celta, Caught Red-Handed: 'When We...'

One of the  most striking discussions in the last LaLiga matchday is what happened between FC Barcelona and Celta de Vigo. The match held in the Catalan city has left several controversial aspects, such as a  penalty not awarded in favor of Celta, or the possible expulsion of Raphinha for an aggression.

This action by the  '11'blaugrana, who usually has a quite explosive temperament in many competitive moments as has already been shown, was solved without applying the correct sanction... despite the fact that he  clearly hits an Iago Aspas who falls to the ground. The regulations indicate that those hits to the chest and face of Iago Aspas, an aggression without the ball, are deserving of a red card.

But the verdeamarelo footballer only saw a yellow card that allowed him to stay on the field and be decisive in securing FC Barcelona's victory. Not in vain, he scored the penalty that made it 4-3 on the scoreboard of the Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium. The analysis of that play has left a  clear verdict from many refereeing experts.

Del Cerro Grande, from the VAR, should have alerted Melero López, his field colleague, that Raphinha had risked a direct red card. Even Iturralde González, former referee and refereeing analyst at Cadena SER, made it clear that "Raphinha should have been expelled" for that improper action on Iago Aspas, an aggression not correctly punished.

Unexpected Confusion

But Iturralde González's words about the analysis of this controversy have drawn attention for another reason. "Del Cerro is in the VAR and is the one who calls the field referee to award a penalty in the 97th minute", notes the former Madrid referee. Those words are in reference to "everything I've read this week about Del Cerro and that he was in the VAR of Del Cerro", the refereeing analyst advances.

It is precisely then that the much-discussed confusion in recent hours arises. "When it crosses to the other side of the air bridge", a clear reference to Real Madrid, "it seems that they are, that they dominate the whole issue" in "conspiracy theories" of Spanish refereeing.  "But when it happens to us...", notes an Iturralde González who realizes what he was saying, and stammers to change the phrasing of his idea.

"When it happens in favor, it seems we forget", corrects the former referee. "The referee is going to make mistakes both ways", sentences Eduardo Iturralde González about the controversies of the FC Barcelona-Celta de Vigo match. The way he began to express himself has sparked many debates on social media,  given the use of that "we" to talk about FC Barcelona in this match.

Many have considered this  dialectical slip as a sign of the culé sentiment, as well as the anti-Madridism, that Iturralde González supposedly harbors even in his time as a professional referee... a tendency for which  there is no reliable or verifiable evidence beyond dozens of rumors and conflicting opinions on social media.