Real Madrid and Almeria certainly did not seem like the headline fixture of the weekend, but after a number of controversial decisions instigated by the VAR assistant, it has dominated the news.
Almeria claimed they had been ‘robbed’ after the match, hinting they felt that there had been deliberate action to prevent them from winning. Meanwhile Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez has also weighed in on the debate, saying ‘there were things that didn’t add up.’ Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti claimed all of the decisions were handled correctly.
The following day, audio was leaked by Gerard Romero from an incident where Vinicius Junior escapes punishment for what looks like an elbow off the ball, sparking further fury. A second incident has also been leaked by Romero, where it shows Chumi escape punishment for body-checking Dani Ceballos off the ball.
“Continue, continue, continue… Number 21 stops in front of Ceballos to prevent him from advancing, there is no elbow, there is no arm, there is nothing. Everything is checked then,” says Alejandro Hernandez Hernandez in the VAR room, after Hernandez Maeso says he has not seen the incident.
Gerard Romero sigue publicando audios de la Sala VOR. Sobre la agresión del jugador del Almería a Ceballos: “No hay contra, no hay brazo, no hay nada”.
¿Va a dimitir ya alguien del CTA tras la filtración del audio completo de un partido? pic.twitter.com/06e5OC062U
— Jose Padilla (@JosePadi_) January 23, 2024
Clearly it is an off the ball incident too, and Chumi perhaps can consider himself lucky that he escapes punishment. Another of the controversial incidents was a penalty awarded to Real Madrid for a handball. Almeria complained furiously that their players were pushed in the build-up, but Hernandez Hernandez confirms they would not have disallowed the goal had the header gone in.
4. Real Madrid's penalty
Clear handball as the Almería player changes the trajectory of the ball with his arm inside of the box pic.twitter.com/ozowWYM1RQ
— Rodrinho 🇲🇽 (@RMCFRodrinho) January 22, 2024
“If it ends in a goal we would not disallow it, therefore taking away the penalty because of that dispute… it was my only doubt in the action. I was thinking about it but no, it is a penalty without a doubt, very good my boy. That’s what had me to me uncomfortable.”
Relevo report that the Referees Committee (CTA) are highly concerned by both the events and the atmosphere. They feel not only as if they have no protection from other parties, but also like a laughing stock. They are currently investigating the matter to see how the audio has gotten out, but are concerned that whomever leaked the audios from this match has access to the entire back-catalogue of audio from VAR.
