In a statement released on social media, Joan Laporta has addressed the recent Clasico and made a significant announcement.
Despite being behind twice, Real Madrid managed to equalize and snatch victory in stoppage time, courtesy of Jude Bellingham, who had already scored a brace in the previous encounter in Catalonia. However, there were controversial refereeing decisions, and FC Barcelona feels aggrieved by the officiating. Both Xavi in the press conference and Ter Stegen criticized the decision regarding the so-called “ghost goal” by Lamine Yamal.
In a video posted on the club’s social media channels, President Joan Laporta voiced his discontent. “As President of FC Barcelona, I want to express my dissatisfaction with the poor use of VAR in one of the world’s most important matches. As you know, I was not a big advocate for VAR because I believe it takes away the spontaneity of football. But now that this tool is in use, it must serve to make the right decisions and prevent injustices. Through my statements, I want to convey the discomfort within the culers following the mishandling of VAR last night. I also want to remind everyone that despite being in use for some time now, VAR still generates controversies and confusion in certain matches and for certain teams. FC Barcelona emphasizes that La Liga is watched by millions of spectators and attracts attention globally, but it is not exempt from criticism regarding the use of VAR, which diminishes the quality of our product,” he began.
Then, he addressed the pivotal incident, stating, “We understand the complexity of the referees’ job, but that’s precisely why tools like VAR should assist them. Competition should be fairer, not the opposite. Last night, several actions were questionable, but the disallowed goal by Lamine Yamal could have changed the outcome of the match. As a club, we want to know the truth about what happened, and we immediately request the Technical Committee of Referees and the Spanish Football Federation to provide all images and audio related to this incident,” he explained, going as far as suggesting a replay of the match in case of a clear error.
“If upon reviewing these materials, the club identifies a misjudgment of the incident, we will take all necessary actions to rectify the harm caused, including the possibility of requesting a rematch if the goal was indeed valid. This has already happened in Europe due to a VAR error. I also want to emphasize that while we focus on this particular incident, we disagree with other contentious refereeing decisions where VAR was not consulted,” concluded the FC Barcelona chief.
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