Real Madrid TV shows the global embarrassment, the worst 'Best league in the world'

The undisputed protagonist of the last matchday of La Liga before the September international break was the video assistant referee system. The first problems began during the match between Deportivo Alavés and Atlético de Madrid: González Fuertes validated a goal scored from an offside position by the visiting side.

The following day, in the Rayo Vallecano-FC Barcelona match, the VAR was disconnected for twelve minutes. During that time, Mateo Busquets Ferrer had no communication with the VOR room in Las Rozas and couldn't go to the monitor to review plays such as the penalty on Lamine Yamal. That controversial action ended in a penalty and goal in favor of the Catalan team.

These two events, with the 25/26 season just started, have drawn attention both inside and outside our borders. Most analyses regarding the third matchday highlight that it is "terrible refereeing". Those words on Telemundo, in the United States, fall short compared to the opinion expressed in Mexico.

One of the panelists on Fox Sports made it clear that "it's been corrupt refereeing for a long time". A viral statistic in recent times also stands out: the goals disallowed for Real Madrid by VAR since this technology was implemented. The gap compared to other teams "draws a lot of attention" in Germany, as revealed by journalist Juan Palencia.

The same perception

"In a league like the Spanish one, having these issues, having a VAR that doesn't work, changes the result, changes the competition", comments Juan Furlanich from Argentina. All these incidents translate into a "bad image" of the top national competition according to Manu Sánchez, a journalist reporting from England. 

In Italy, "headlines in the sports press" have appeared regarding the "fact that several minutes are played with VAR, several minutes without VAR". Mario Gago, from that country, points out that because of this "competition anomaly, it's not clear when VAR is working and when the referee can go to review a play".

Other terms used around the world to define the mistakes are "embarrassment" for what happened at Mendizorroza, or the "lack of criteria" seen in the Real Mallorca-FC Barcelona match. On Telemundo, United States, they have no doubt: "we broadcast the Premier League, it's night and day. In the Premier League, they have it clear, there are two or three mistakes per season for which they have to issue a clear apology".

The 'Negreira case', notes Juan Palencia in Germany, leaves a "buzz about the integrity of the competition". From that country, as well as in Italy, "it is seen as if that sporting justice in Spain is not so efficient" due to the absence of decisions from those responsible for Spanish soccer.