This was clear even before Sunday’s El Clasico – Barca remains without a trophy this season. Even if the Catalans had won at the “Bernabeu”, the difference with the eternal rival would be five points. It wouldn’t be mathematically impossible, but it would also be a pretty solid lead with a few laps to go.
Now the points are 11 and doing calculations is absolutely pointless. Real will lift their 36th title, but the feeling remains that there was a midday robbery against Barca during the season.
Even in the two editions of the classic, the Catalans could have taken the full set of points if it were not for some contradictory decisions of the judges.
And they were not one and two to the detriment of the “Blaugranas”.
We rewind the tape:
The canceled penalty against Getafe
Already in the first round, Barca drew 0-0 away to Getafe, and referee Soto Grado awarded a penalty deep into stoppage time, which was later overturned after VAR intervened.
It happened in the 101st minute when Araujo was fouled. However, the referee judged that Gavi had played with his hand and awarded a foul to the hosts.
The cutting in Granada
Barca should have won 3:2 at the visit of Granada, but the same Soto Grado prevented this from happening. In the 93rd minute, Cancelo crossed and Joao Felix scored from deep. However, the referee disallowed the goal as Ferran Torres, standing at least 10 meters to the right, was influencing play.
Missed penalty in the first El Clasico
At 1-0 after Gundogan’s early goal and already in first-half extra time, Chuameni grabbed Araujo with both hands, preventing him from jumping into the box. However, Hill Manzano ignored this violation, as did the referees in the VAR box. If the penalty had been awarded and converted, it would have been 2-0 and it is very likely that Barca would have taken the three points.
Two penalties in Viajecas
A month later came the visit of Rayo Vallecano, and the Andalusian referee Munuera Montero and the Aragonese Jaime Latre (VAR) missed two rather obvious penalties for the Catalans. The first was for judo reception against Lewandowski, and the other – against Rafinha.
The gifts for Real vs. Almeria
In the 21st round, Real Madrid overcame Almeria 3:2 after trailing 0:2 at the break. In the 54th minute, VAR flagged referee Francisco José Hernández Maeso for a handball on Caiki in the penalty area, and eventually the referee awarded a penalty in favor of Real.
Just after the hour, Almeria looked to have regained their two-goal lead again when Sergio Arribas headed in, but the video refereeing system intervened again to flag a foul on Dion Loppi at the start of the attack and the goal was disallowed.
In the 67th minute came the most controversial decision of the match, which was caused by Vinicius Junior, who was accurate for 2:2, but subsequently saw the referee Maeso cancel the goal because of a handball by the Brazilian. In this case, however, the VAR stepped in and, after consulting the system, referee Francisco Hernandez changed his mind and still recognized Madrid’s goal as regular, although replays of the situation left serious questions as to whether Vinicius was, in fact, playing with a hand.
Thus, the match at the Santiago Bernabeu continued with a draw, and with time remaining, Real Madrid expectedly looked for the complete turnaround and it finally came true deep into stoppage time, when in the 99th minute Dani Carvajal gave his team the victory .
