Espanyol are on the edge of relegation and need of every bit of help they can get, but they were left furious on Wednesday night, after Atletico Madrid were given a goal that they felt should not have stood.
During the first half, with Atletico leading 1-0, Yannick Carrasco’s follow-up effort came off the post and fell to Antoine Griezmann, who turned it goalwards. Fernando Pacheco in goal for Espanyol tried to keep it out, and after some delay, a goal was given.
GOL DEL ATLETI: tras chequear la jugada con el VAR (el reloj no vibró), Griezmann pudo festejar el 2-0 ante Espanyol en #LaLigaxESPN.
📺 Mirá #LaLiga por #ESPNenStarPlus pic.twitter.com/39oK3lF09x
— SportsCenter (@SC_ESPN) May 24, 2023
PARA EL VAR, ENTRÓ: Griezmann anotó con suspenso el 2-0 del #Atleti ante #Espanyol en #LaLigaxESPN.
📺 Mirá #LaLiga 🇪🇸 por #ESPNenStarPlus pic.twitter.com/5YmyiuQlmb
— ESPN Fútbol Argentina (@ESPNFutbolArg) May 24, 2023
The goal was given after a VAR review, but Espanyol manager Luis Garcia told MD after the match that they had their doubts about whether it should have been given.
“The team has continued trying and in the 40th minute or so there is a controversial decision. The club has officially requested the image where it can be seen clearly and clearly that the ball enters [the goal] because in the only image they have from the bottom, Pacheco covers the ball with which is not visible and the other image is from the spider cam and depending on the perspective, as happens in tennis, maybe the ball is inside or the ball has not entered.”
He continued on, not criticising VAR, but the application of it as per protocol. Espanyol have asked for confirmation.
“The VAR tool is very good but normally they notify the referees when the situation is clear, and clear it was not, at least from the images we have. I only hope that they send the image to the club where it is clearly seen that the ball is in.”
This of course comes after heightened controversy surrounding VAR all season, with various teams asking for major reform. However in this case, the problem is clearly the lack of goal-line technology. It remains something of a mystery as to why there it has not been implemented.
