the most irrational debate with the VAR to splash Xavi Hernández’s League

BarcelonaThe rivalry between Barça and Real Madrid, with the noise of the Negreira case in the background, has generated a whole series of bar debates promoted by the loudspeakers of Madrid: even refereeing decisions are questioned. In Sunday’s classic at the Camp Nou, referee De Burgos Bengoetxea, at the behest of VAR, ruled out for offside Marco Asensio’s goal that put Carlo Ancelotti ahead in the 81st minute. After the match, the coach the Italian surprised by coming out of his calm position to criticize the referee’s decision. Ancelotti decided to discredit the geometry and question the lines drawn from the VAR room with which the offside was determined.

The white coach also referred to the semi-automatic system to detect offside that was used in the last edition of the Spanish Super Cup and the World Cup in Qatar. In fact, the League and the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) are studying to implement it, as Cadena Cope has advanced. To do this, twelve cameras will need to be installed in all the stadiums tracking exclusive to calibrate the offside based on the detection of up to 29 movements of the player’s body. It is a system that, for example, has already been used in the Italian Serie A since January.

But it will hardly put an end to the irrational debate that often surrounds football. Sunday’s classic is a very obvious example. The historic rivalry between the two teams and the importance of the game explain it: Barça’s victory leaves the League almost doomed with 12 games to go, while a white victory opens the championship. But with VAR football is fairer. The situation at the top of the competition would be different without this tool and it is up to Madrid that the Blaugrana, led by Xavi Hernández, are leaders with such authority. It is only necessary to recover some of the broadcasts of the classic. “We are charging football. Sometimes you face it and sometimes you believe, but this is not football”, could be heard on some of the state radios. The next day, the controversy continued: “There is no way to trust this tool,” gushed the director and presenter ofThe spar from Cadena SER, Manu Carreño. Real Madrid’s official television has also made content questioning the referee’s work.

What would the classification of the League be like without the VAR?

Apart from the criticism, the work of the VAR has facilitated the decision of the referee team in many doubtful plays. This season, if we look at the top places in the classification, Barça is the leader with 68 points, 12 more than Real Madrid (56). If the decisions corrected by the VAR are removed, the Blaugrana would drop up to 61 points, while the whites would add five. So there would be a tie at the top of the table.

The Blaugrana team has seen how, in the last two days, the VAR certified two saving actions. The last one, Marco Asensio’s offside in Sunday’s classic. And, in the previous day, it was not one, but two crucial actions of the party. In San Mamés, after VAR intervened, Gil Manzano validated a Raphinha goal previously disallowed for non-existent offside and then disallowed the home equalizer through Iker’s hands Munian prior to Iñaki Williams’ goal. For a similar case, Marcos André’s goal on matchday 12, in Mestalla, was disallowed, and the score remained 0-0 until Lewandowski’s goal in the 93rd minute.

On the part of Real Madrid, the actions that have subtracted points from the whites have been by hand. Like the ones that were the subject of a penalty against Girona, who later transformed Stuani. Or Rudiger’s before a Benzema goal against Betis, which was later disallowed. Real Madrid’s Dani Carvajal spoke on Tuesday about the VAR controversy: “We must dedicate ourselves to playing, obeying the decisions and not doubting the system at any time”. The statements clash with those of their coach, Carlo Ancelotti, in the heat on Sunday.

The semi-automatic offside

“It makes our job easier, it takes the pressure off us. It’s a very clear criterion, it’s well understood,” commented De Burgos Bengoetxea, the referee of the classic, in this year’s Spanish Super Cup. With semi-automatic offside, fouls in football will be even more controlled. Based on cameras, sensors on the ball and player movements, referees in the VAR room will have more tools to accurately know the position of footballers. Once the decision has been made, it will be communicated to the referee, who will signal the offside or not. Once the match resumes, viewers will be able to watch the play from a 3D recreation, observing the action up close to be able to verify the referee’s decision. However, technology will continue to fine-tune an ever-changing football.