Gray-haired man with a serious expression in the foreground, and in the upper right corner an image of referees reviewing VAR monitors in a control room.
Josep Pedrerol remembers CTA after the worst weekend for Spanish VAR | Camara Real Madrid Confidencial
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Pedrerol, very serious, sends a harsh message to the CTA after the embarrassment at Rayo - Barça

The host of 'El Chiringuito de Jugones' harshly criticized what happened this past weekend

by

Enrique Sanz

It has been a particularly intense weekend for Spanish referees. Everything seemed to be going as usual during the first matches of matchday 3, played last Friday. Then came the match between Deportivo Alavés and Atlético de Madrid, a game in which González Fuertes made a mistake by awarding a goal in clear offside.

The CTA's reaction was immediate: the referee was replaced by Melero López in his role as AVAR referee in the match between Real Madrid and Real Mallorca. However, that improvised change didn't prevent the match at Santiago Bernabéu from being full of controversy and protests from Madridist fans.

A player in a red uniform tries to score a goal while the goalkeeper and several defenders in blue and white uniforms try to stop him near the goal.
The goal scored by Atlético de Madrid at Mendizorroza | Real Madrid Confidencial

Xabi Alonso's players, in fact, saw as many as three goals disallowed after a video review: both of Kylian Mbappé's for offside... and Arda Güler's goal was ruled out for a handball by the Turkish midfielder just before shooting on goal. While those three actions were well managed, the number of disallowed goals is surprising: when it seemed nothing else could go wrong, Rayo Vallecano-FC Barcelona took place.

This match at Estadio de Vallecas was marked by a peculiarity. For twelve minutes in the first half, the connection between the VOR room in Las Rozas and the stadium was interrupted: there were no images and no way for the officials to communicate. During that time, FC Barcelona managed to force a penalty that Busquets Ferrer awarded without hesitation.

Very agitated days

Since there were no VAR images that could dispute the referee's decision, that infringement was upheld, with the on-field referee's judgment always taking precedence... despite protests from Rayo Vallecano's players. That infringement, caused by Lamine Yamal, ended in a goal by the "10" culé from the penalty spot (11 m/36 ft.).

It has been a chaotic weekend for the video review system in our country. Josep Pedrerol reviewed, at the start of "El Chiringuito de Jugones," the two major problems with VAR in matchday 3 of La Liga. "Atlético de Madrid's offside goal, the penalty to Lamine Yamal", the veteran journalist recalled during his opening monologue.

Two players in white uniforms and one in a blue uniform fight for the ball as the player in blue falls to the ground with a look of pain during a match.
Lamine Yamal falls to the ground in Rayo Vallecano's penalty area | Real Madrid Confidencial

"VAR broken. Referees and those in charge are ruining soccer", Josep Pedrerol concluded before starting a new episode of "El Chiringuito de Jugones" last night. The brief but harsh words of the Catalan host reflect the strange feelings that the performance of Spanish referees is currently generating.

The matchday ending today, Monday, September 1, has been marked by controversy in the country's most followed matches: Real Madrid, Atlético de Madrid, and FC Barcelona. In all these controversies, video review has played a role, a tool whose function still hasn't been established or caused the necessary consensus in many respects.

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