Referee Alejandro Hernandez Hernandez has admitted that he was at fault for Barcelona’s infamous ghost goal against Real Betis in 2017, a result which would contribute to the Blaugrana’s failure to secure the title by three points at the time.
The Blaugrana drew 1-1 away to Betis in January, Luis Suarez grabbing an equaliser in the 90th minute after Alex Alegria had put Los Verdiblancos ahead. That could have been the winner for Suarez, after he appeared to score, with the ball over the line, but no goal was given.
Speaking to Cadena Cope on Wednesday night, Hernandez admitted his mistake, and highlighted that if Barcelona had been influencing referees through their payments to Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, then this would have been a strange decision to make.
“I’m on the edge of the box, and from my position, seeing if the ball goes in or not… It’s a blatant mistake and it was during Negreira’s time, there was even a possible penalty against Neymar and nothing was called. Two weeks before, in a Sevilla-Real Madrid game, where I called a penalty in favour of Real Madrid in which my assistant told me ‘nothing, nothing, nothing’, all during Negreira’s time. All the arguments are falling apart.”
Referees have come under serious pressure over the last two seasons, with many perceiving standards to be lower since the introduction of VAR, while their intergrity has been questioned due to the Negreira case. On Wednesday, head of the Referees Committee (CTA) Luis Medina Cantalejo defended their work this season, while Hernandez and Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea also gave interviews, suggesting they are trying to address the public perception of referees.