Barcelona fell to a late 3-2 defeat at Real Madrid in El Clasico on Sunday, which was a damaging result for any last hopes of winning La Liga.
Xavi’s side have had a disappointing week, having suffered a humiliating Champions League exit at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain, and any outside shot of a surprise comeback in the La Liga title race has now been extinguished.
Although Barcelona took the lead twice, a 91st-minute winner from Jude Bellingham consigned them to defeat at the Santiago Bernabeu. However, the result could have been very different if several refereeing decisions were delivered with more accuracy.
Lamine Yamal had a shot saved by Andriy Lunin which appeared to go over the line, but without goal-line technology, a decision could not be made. And yet, there was another decision which was arguably even more controversial.
Former referee claims Pau Cubarsi tackle on Lucas Vazquez was not a penalty in Barcelona defeat
Former FIFA referee Manuel Grafe has now taken to X, formerly known as Twitter, to claim that Real Madrid’s penalty, which saw Lucas Vazquez brought down by defender Pau Cubarsi in the box, was unfairly given to the home side.
“Cubarsí is clumsy by offering his leg to Lucas Vázquez like this. But Vázquez takes off (!) and seeks contact with his right leg, which he only finds mid-flight,” he posted.
“It may be difficult to see on the field, but with VAR?”
“Even the slightest contact with the other foot is not the cause of the fall. You can see how he takes off beforehand but he no longer wants to put either foot on the ground,” he added.
“Vázquez ‘s left foot falls first, but it should not be put on the ground. Therefore, Vázquez lifts it up for better theatricality!”
Barcelona were unlucky to concede penalty against Real Madrid for Cubarsi tackle
Although in real-time, it looked to be a fair penalty as Vazquez sprinted into the box, VAR would have seen the replays show that the Spaniard left his leg trailing to initiate contact with Cubarsi.
Arsenal were denied a penalty in the Champions League against Bayern Munich earlier this month for a very similar foul, as it was claimed that Bukayo Saka had initiated contact with Manuel Neuer.
Whilst this was in European competition rather than La Liga, it does show that Barcelona were very harshly penalised for a move which could easily have been overlooked as a tackle by a different referee, and Cubarsi will be frustrated that his performance was affected by such a controversial moment.
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