Refereeing committee delivers verdict on two controversial decisions from Barcelona vs Real Madrid

Refereeing committee delivers verdict on two controversial decisions from Barcelona vs Real Madrid Barcelona saw their perfect start to the La Liga season come to a cruel end with the 1-2 defeat to Real Madrid at the Spotify Camp Nou. It was a game where the two teams tried to outplay one another tactically and in the end, it was Los Blancos who walked away with the three points. Several refereeing decisions in that game attracted attention and two of them involving Barca defenders have now received an official assessment. According to MARCA , the Technical Committee of Referees (CTA) reviewed the incidents involving Alejandro Balde and Joao Cancelo in its weekly Tiempo de Revision programme. CTA confirms Balde’s handball was not a penalty One of the incidents involved Balde, whose arm made contact with the ball inside Barcelona’s penalty area. Real Madrid players understandably appealed for a penalty but the refereeing committee agreed with Martinez Munuera’s decision to not award one. The Balde incident in the Clasico was not deemed a penalty. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images) “The ball accidentally strikes the defender’s arm,” the CTA explained, supporting the referee’s assessment that Balde’s arm was in a natural position. The second incident involved Cancelo, who caught Yan Diomande on the calf with his studs during the second half. Los Blancos demanded a red card, but the referee allowed play to continue without showing a card. Cancelo should have received a yellow card, not a red The CTA acknowledged that the referee should have punished the Portuguese defender’s challenge on the Ivory Coast winger with a yellow card, calling it a reckless action. However, the committee concluded that the contact neither involved excessive force or brutality to warrant a direct red card. Madrid players and Jose Mourinho unsurprisingly complained about the incident but there was nothing in it more than a yellow card. Since the challenge did not meet the threshold to be considered for a straight red card, VAR could not intervene. However, it is worth accepting that Cancelo escaped a deserved booking on a night when he faced a lot of problems. Ultimately, none of these decisions had a direct impact on the final result, thereby making it a less controversial Clasico in recent times. Flick’s concern will not be about the refereeing but rather his team’s performance. Barca had the opportunity to go nine points clear at the top but failed to do so. The onus is now on the German manager to address the problems that allowed Madrid to outplay them at the Camp Nou and return to winning ways in the coming games.