BARCELONA ARE LIVING A FANTASY IF THEY THINK EL CLASICO SHOULD BE REPLAYED - BUT LAMINE YAMAL'S 'GHOST GOAL' IS THE WAKE-UP CALL LA LIGA NEEDS TO FINALLY INVEST IN GOAL-LINE TECHNOLOGY

'Complete injustice'

Yamal's ingenuity probably deserved a goal. The teenager darted to the near post to meet Raphinha's right-wing corner, and cleverly diverted the skidding ball towards the net. Lunin reacted slowly, and was a yard over his own line as he stretched forward to parry the effort away. Yamal celebrated, while the rest of the Barca side stood in confusion. Referee Soto pointed for another Blaugrana corner, and a lengthy VAR check determined that there was no conclusive evidence that the ball had crossed the line.

The whole ordeal took three minutes, and while the players awaited the decision, Soto barked to the players on the pitch that "no goal technology" was available for use. The referee, it must be admitted, probably did the right thing. From his angle, at the edge of the penalty area with a crowd of limbs to peer through, it would have been impossible to adjudge whether Yamal's flick crossed the line.

That rational reaction to the incident was nowhere to be found elsewhere, though. The incident sparked debate in post-match interviews and on social media, as Xavi claimed that "the feeling of today is of complete injustice,", while Barca goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen described it as "embarrassing for football." Carlo Ancelotti, for his part, claimed that "Lamine's shot was not a goal."

La Liga's position

It is admittedly odd that goal-line technology should rear its head as an issue in the year 2024. The system was first implemented in the early 2010s, and became nearly ubiquitous after the 2014 World Cup.

It has something of a complex history, and fans of many teams - especially in the English game - can point to previous controversial incidents that could have been cleared up had the technology been available earlier. Luis Garcia's famous 'ghost goal' for Liverpool against Chelsea in the 2005 Champions League semi-final springs to mind, as does Frank Lampard's long-range effort for England at the World Cup in an eventual loss to Germany in 2010. And let's not forget the Azerbaijani linesman and his difficult task during the 1966 World Cup final...

Such debates and complaints have been steadily removed across Europe. By 2016, when goal-line technology was implemented for the European Championship and Champions League, it was regarded as common practice.

But Spain has held its ground. For years, La Liga president Javier Tebas has resisted change, reluctant to spend the estimated £2.6 million ($3.2m) per season it would cost to use the near-ubiquitous setup.

Unfortunately, Yamal's 'goal' is not the only incident this season that has brought the goal-line technology debate back into Spain's national discourse. Celta Vigo and Real Sociedad were both denied potential victories due to the lack of clarity over whether the ball has crossed the line, following in the footsteps of similar rows in previous years. La Liga and Tebas, though, refuse to budge.

Tebas' stance

Tebas has historically been the strongest voice against goal-line technology's implementation. La Liga's president has a complicated history with the use of technology in football, having initially taken an anti-VAR stance before embracing it back in 2017. Back then, it was a money issue, but his hand was rather forced by changes made elsewhere in Europe.

Since then, he has occasionally ventured into the discourse. In 2020, he argued that Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has an influence on the way that VAR is implemented in Spain. Later that year, he admitted that "VAR must be improved" after the controversial technology failed to amend a number of errors - and handed Los Blancos a puzzling penalty against Athletic Club in June 2020.

But he has remained a staunch opponent of goal-line technology. He made that clear on Sunday, bizarrely tweeting screenshots to four articles that highlighted mistakes made by the system in other countries. Fans were quick to point out that Tebas' articles were all years out of date, and errors all came from a previous type of technology that is no longer in use. Regardless, his message remains clear.

Model across Europe

Part of Tebas' argument, though, stems from the fact that VAR tends to fix debates to do with goal-line decisions. And in that sense, he has a point. Video review, without the complex 'Hawk-eye' system that he has so often railed against, has been able to make a number of key decisions over the years, both in Spain and abroad.

But there have also been numerous errors when the system alone is entrusted. Sunday's Clasico highlighted one of them: VAR, run by humans, cannot accurately interpret the minutia of whether a ball has crossed the line. Some of these decisions are determined by millimetres, margins too small to interpret even with the best of angles - or most eager pair of eyes.

The inverse is also true. At times, goal-line technology has failed. Sheffield United, for example, were in a state of bemusement when, in the first game after football returned from the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020, a glitch in goal-line technology saw them denied of what would have been a winner against Aston Villa. But then, VAR also let the Blades down. That day, it was unable to intervene and overturn what the naked eye could clearly see: United quite comfortably had the ball in the net.

Modern mindset

This all comes at a time amid an odd shift in as to how clubs communicate with referees and leagues in football. For years, managers would so willingly stand before cameras after the final whistle and criticise officials. Some even got very good at it, Jose Mourinho mastering the art of "criticising without saying anything" with his famous "I prefer not to speak" rant in 2014 after Chelsea lost to Villa.

But now, coinciding with the implementation of VAR - and heightened publicity around refereeing decisions - those claims have come with backing from the clubs involved. Liverpool were perhaps the most flagrant example, suggesting that they could ask for their fixture with Tottenham to be replayed after a VAR mistake denied Jurgen Klopp's side of a goal in an eventual 2-1 loss. Arsenal did a similar thing, backing their manager after Mikel Arteta railed against referees following their controversial defeat to Newcastle. Most recently, Nottingham Forest's X account made the outlandish claim that the VAR for their fixture against Everton was a Luton fan - and therefore actively working against the club.

Each time, those statements, ones that tend to call into question the integrity of the game, and root from egotistical feelings of injustice or anti-league sentiments, are dressed up in the guise of "improving the standard of refereeing." The reality is often different, especially in the toxic fervour of fan debate online.

Either way, it has become common practice, and Laporta's inflammatory words are no different. There is no conspiracy against Barcelona. The referee did his job, the fixture will not be replayed.

Except this time, the disgruntled president may just have a point: La Liga needs to change its ways.