Source:REUTERS/Bruna Casas
[Saba Sports News] Recently, in a video assessment released by the Spanish Football Federation, the Spanish Referee Technical Committee reviewed a prior decision and confirmed that there was an error in the second goal scored by Girona in the match where Barcelona lost 1-2. In response, Barcelona’s official Twitter account shared a close-up collage of that goal and captioned it: “Acknowledging the mistake is an important first step. Preventing a recurrence is the next step.” In the video released by the Spanish Football Federation, the Spanish Referee Technical Committee stated: “Claudio Echeverri stepped on Jules Koundé’s foot with his studs before passing the ball to his teammate who scored. VAR reviewed the entire attacking sequence and deemed it a move that could be interpreted by the referee, thus maintaining the original decision and confirming the goal.” According to Rule 12, a reckless step constitutes a foul and should result in a warning. Competing for possession does not exempt a player from committing a foul. If a player steps on an opponent with unnecessary force, they must be penalized.
The writer believes that Echeverri impeded Koundé’s defensive action and that a foul should have been called, along with a yellow card. VAR should have intervened, as this was an obvious, clear, and unmistakable error that warranted a change in the decision and an announcement of the goal being invalid.