The VAR Audio Confirms Why They Canceled Asencio's Non-Penalty on Raphinha

One of the most controversial actions of the Copa del Rey final between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid occurred during the stoppage time of the 90 minutes. Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea awarded a penalty on Raphinha, by Raúl Asencio, in what he understood to be a clear takedown by the '35' from Madrid. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Shortly after awarding that penalty in the stoppage time of the match, the Basque referee received a notification from Pablo González Fuertes. From the VAR, his colleague informed him of a notable discrepancy in criteria when analyzing the action. The conversation escalated until de Burgos Bengoetxea informed the players that he would personally review the action.

As is customary, RFEF has published the audio of that conversation between Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea and Pablo González Fuertes. "I recommend you please come to see the penalty you just awarded," the VAR referee tells him. When de Burgos Bengoetxea is in front of the monitor, as he indicates to his colleague, González Fuertes gets to work.

"I'm going to show you that the player is already dragging his foot when contact could occur below. I'm going to give you another" angle of the action to better see the play between Raúl Asencio and Raphinha. Based on these new images provided to the Basque referee, "neither the left leg nor the right leg make contact with the forward".

Exchange That Clarifies Everything

Given the clarity of the action, Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea concludes: "I'm going to cancel the penalty and issue a yellow card to Raphinha". That was precisely the verdict that ended up being delivered in the match, removing the penalty in favor of FC Barcelona and cautioning the '11' verdeamarelo for simulating a foul.

The correct decision made by Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea, albeit at the behest of the review prompted by Pablo González Fuertes, doesn't alleviate the controversy and the prominence of both referees. The referees appointed for the Copa del Rey final held a controversial press conference, with tears and statements "under a threatening tone", which added a lot of tension to the lead-up.

But they were not excessively prominent during the time the match between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid lasted at La Cartuja... aside from the widespread discontent from Madrid that goes beyondthe delay in resolving this action of the non-penalty by Raúl Asencio on Raphinha in the stoppage time of the match.

Now Raúl Asencio himself will have to assume unexpected roles for him at the beginning of the season. The '35' from the Canary Islands, awaiting the suspension matches that Rüdiger will serve, could be chosen to take on the leadership of the merengue defensive line. This situation will occur while Éder Militão completes his long recovery and the leaders led by Florentino Pérez decide on the signing of a center-back in the summer of 2025.