Real Madrid the worst-hit La Liga team by VAR decisions last season

Real Madrid the worst-hit La Liga team by VAR decisions last season Real Madrid’s relation with referees has taken a turn for the worse in recent years, especially after the entire Negreira-Barcelona scandal. It is, however, not only the on-field refereeing that has seen friction with the club. The advancement of refereeing, the VAR, has also not helped the situation and continues to hurt Los Blancos more than it benefits them. In the 2024-25 season, Real Madrid would theoretically have finished as La Liga champions had it not been for VAR interventions as they were seemingly robbed of seven points to the five of Hansi Flick’s side. No change last season As revealed in a recent report by AS , Real Madrid were the most affected team by VAR in the recent 2025-26 campaign as well with the highest number of reviews against them and the most points lost. Real Madrid have suffered at the hands of the referees and VAR. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images) Over the course of the season, there were 11 instances where the VAR intervention went against Real Madrid which is the joint highest in the division with Barcelona. The distinction, however, is that the VAR calls directly affected the result and saw Los Blancos lose five points while they cost Barcelona just one point all season.  In terms of VAR decisions in the team’s favour, the Catalans had 11 beneficial decisions and finished the season as the second most benefited side. Real Madrid, however had just four favourable calls and are the second lowest on the list. The two key games Real Madrid the most affected team due to VAR decisions. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images) Of all the games over the course of the season, two in particular directly affected Real Madrid’s title charge. The first came at the Estadi Montilivi against Girona where a Kylian Mbappe goal was disallowed for a handball in the buildup. Had the goal stood, the team would have taken all three points. The second instance, meanwhile, was the game against Osasuna at Estadi El Sadar with Alvaro Arbeloa as the manager. On that night, VAR intervened and awarded the hosts a penalty for a Thibaut Courtois foul on Ante Budimir. Further, they overturned the on-field decision to disallow Raul Garcia’s eventual winner, thus converting a 1-0 win for Real Madrid into a 2-1 defeat.