Barcelona President: We May Request a Replay Against Real if Video Assistant Referee Error is Proven

Barcelona President Joan Laporta indicated that "his team may request a replay of the match they lost 3-2 to Real Madrid yesterday in La Liga if it is confirmed that Lamine Yamal's goal attempt in the 28th minute, which was disallowed after a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review, was indeed valid." Laporta stated on Monday that "the club will request all footage and audio recordings regarding the incident from the Spanish Football Federation." The match was temporarily halted for several minutes while the VAR tried to determine if Yamal's shot crossed the goal line, but they could not find a clear angle of the ball, so the decision to disallow the goal stood. Laporta affirmed that "if the club confirms that an error occurred in the review, we will take all the available measures to rectify the situation, including any necessary legal actions." He added, "If we confirm the goal's validity, we will proceed with the required actions and will not rule out requesting a replay, similar to what happened in another match in Europe due to VAR." Laporta expressed dissatisfaction regarding the "misuse" of VAR, noting that the tool causes "confusion and inconsistent criteria depending on matches and teams." He continued, "We understand the difficulties referees face, but that is why such tools (like VAR) exist to help ensure competition is fairer, not the opposite." Barcelona currently has 70 points from 32 matches and trails 11 points behind table leaders Real Madrid. A replay of a Belgian Pro League match between Anderlecht and Genk was decided due to an error made by the VAR after Genk's appeal was upheld by the league's disciplinary committee.