Barcelona’s 5-2 victory over Real Betis has been overshadowed by a controversy involving the use of video assistant referee technology. New footage from the match reveals that referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea appeared to initiate a review after repeated objections from Barcelona players regarding a disallowed goal scored by Giovani Lo Celso.
The newly released recordings, published via Marca by the Spanish league association through referee de Burgos Bengoetxea’s camera, capture the exchange on the pitch. Pedri led the protests by insisting to the official that a handball against Colombian Cucho Hernández was clear during the build-up to Lo Celso’s goal, though de Burgos initially insisted he did not consider the play worthy of an offence. Lamine Yamal and Fermín López also joined the argument to keep the pressure on the referee over whether Cucho had used his hand to control the ball.
Referee Disallows Goal After Handball Review
During the conversation, de Burgos turned to video technology official Carlos del Cerro Grande and said: Review the handball for me, that’s what they’re asking of me, Cerro
. Following the sequence leading up to Lo Celso’s shot, the referee ultimately disallowed the goal because of the handball committed by Cucho at the start of the attack.
Backlash Over Procedures
The phrase used by the referee has drawn sharp criticism regarding how the video review was requested. Former Spanish referee Iturralde González took to X to criticise the moment, writing: We’ve just discovered VAR on demand. Review this play for me because they’re asking me to
. Iturralde argued that players requesting a review of a specific incident should not direct the intervention of video technology, and that the officiating crew must instead determine whether an incident warrants a review according to established procedures.
