The Technical Committee for Referees in Spain (CTA) have admitted that Barcelona were wrongly denied a penalty against Getafe last Sunday.
The decision came deep into stoppage time, when Ronald Araujo was brought down in the box late on by Juan Iglesias. Play continued, and after the incident it was reviewed by VAR, when referee Cesar Soto Grado was asked to review the incident.
After checking on the monitor, Soto Grado determined that Barcelona’s Gavi had handled the ball prior to the foul on Araujo, and no penalty was given.
Following the match, Barcelona Manager Xavi Hernandez told the press that the match was ‘a disgrace’, although partly referencing the wider refereeing and time-keeping, and said the handball was ‘invented’.
Opposite number Jose Bordalas said he was merely making excuses for not winning, but now Sport have carried a story from ABC, where they explain that according to the rules, the handball was not punishable, given it struck his hand from close range unintentionally, and it also deflected off his chest – thus the penalty should have been given.
Soto Grado has been dropped for this week’s round of fixtures, and will be ‘put in the fridge’ to cool off, as the Spanish idiom goes.
This will do little to ease Xavi or Barcelona’s frustration over the matter, who felt that it was clear at the time. It remains to be seen whether this will become common practice for the CTA, admitting to mistakes, or whether this is a one-off.