Report – Reason VAR said ‘Thank goodness’ after Barcelona goal ruled out vs Real Madrid | OneFootball

The fallout from Barcelona’s thrilling 4-3 win over Real Madrid in El Clasico has not been without controversy, and, once again, the spotlight has landed squarely on the referees.

A disallowed goal in the final moments of the match has sparked outrage among fans and raised serious questions about the role and conduct of VAR officials.

In the 95th minute, Barcelona’s Fermin Lopez appeared to seal the game with a goal that would have made it 5-3. The La Masia product’s strike sent the crowd into raptures, only for the joy to be short-lived.

VAR intervened, and after a long review, the goal was disallowed due to a handball in the build-up. While that decision itself was enough to frustrate Barça supporters, what has come to light since has caused even more indignation.

Clarifying the ‘Thank goodness’

Audios from the VAR room were released, and among the chatter, a phrase stood out: “thank goodness”, a remark made immediately after the handball was identified.

Refereeing decisions were called into question. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

For many, it sounded like blatant relief from the officials that the goal had been annulled, adding to long-standing suspicions that refereeing decisions in high-stakes games like El Clasico are anything but neutral.

As the controversy grew, explanations from refereeing experts began to emerge. However, Iturralde Gonzalez, a former referee himself, attempted to clarify the situation.

According to Gonzalez, as reported by SPORT, there were three individuals present in the VAR room at the time of the review.

The initial camera angle did not clearly show the handball, but upon a second view from another angle, the hand became visible, prompting one of the officials to blurt out a relieved “’thank goodness’, damn, we have seen the hand.”

Gonzalez insists that this was not a celebration of Barcelona’s goal being ruled out, but rather a natural human reaction under pressure.

His interpretation was backed by another refereeing expert, Isaac Fouto, who also stated that “the image was found in the last review.”

The Royal Spanish Football Federation later confirmed this explanation to the aforementioned outlet, standing by the integrity of their refereeing team.