Barcelona & Cubarsí backed by ex-referee in Real Madrid penalty debate | OneFootball

La Liga giants Barcelona have on Monday been backed by a one-time referee, in their case that the penalty awarded against the club during their meeting with Real Madrid was unjust.

The subject of the officiating in last night’s El Clásico has of course dominated the headlines across the day to date.

This comes owing to a series of decisions to have gone in favour of Real Madrid, and against Barcelona.

One such call saw the former afforded the chance to level things up from the penalty spot, early in the first-half.

After Lucas Vázquez did superbly to work his way into the Barca penalty area, the 32-year-old went to ground under contact from Pau Cubarsí.

Upon initial viewing, the spot-kick award looked an obvious call.

Ensuing replays of the incident, however, showcased the fact that, whilst Cubarsí’s leg was indeed outstretched, much of the contact was initiated by Vázquez himself.

And one individual of the opinion that as much should have been picked up on by VAR, comes in the form of Manuel Gräfe.

Gräfe, for his part, is a former international referee, who often takes to his social media platforms to provide his takes on high-profile officiating decisions.

And, in his analysis of the latest penalty awarded to Real Madrid, the German appeared to be in no two minds that the wrong conclusion was reached:

“Cubarsí is clumsy by offering his leg to Lucas Vázquez like this. But Vázquez takes off (!) and seeks contact with his right leg, which he only finds mid-flight. It may be difficult to see on the field, but with VAR?”

Gräfe went on to add:

“Even the slightest contact with the other foot is not the cause of the fall. You can see how he takes off beforehand but he no longer wants to put either foot on the ground. Vázquez ‘s left foot falls first, but it should not be put on the ground. Therefore, Vázquez lifts it up for better theatricality!”

Conor Laird | GSFN