Sunday’s meeting between Real Madrid and Barcelona got off to a roaring start when the referee awarded Los Blancos a penalty just two minutes into proceedings.
Vinicius Junior fell to the ground following a desperate challenge from Lamine Yamal, who had his head in his hands after clear contact between the two saw the referee immediately point to the spot.
A mandatory VAR check followed and appeared to be focused on a potential offside call involving the Brazil winger, whose burst forwards from just inside the Barcelona half was under obvious scrutiny, but the referee was soon asked to come over to the pitchside monitor.
Such a decision meant the officials were no longer considering an offside and, after a brief exchange on the sidelines, the penalty was quickly ruled out.
Why Vinicius Junior Was Not Awarded a Penalty Against Barcelona
The referee was called to the monitor for one specific view of the challenge from Yamal, whose lunge towards the ball was undoubtedly a risky one.
While it appeared the officials were initially debating whether Yamal had actually touched the ball—it seemed clear he had not—but the discussion soon turned to whether the Barcelona winger had actually been fouled himself.
As Vinicius wound his leg back to shoot, Yamal got one foot in front of the Brazilian and, rather than initiate the contact himself, was the subject of a forceful kick from Vinicius. It was ultimately decided that the 25-year-old Madrid forward had conducted the foul.
Madrid fans felt hard done by and were on the wrong end of another decision soon after. Kylian Mbappé crashed home a glorious half-volley from range 10 minutes later, but a VAR review deemed the Frenchman to be in an offside position.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Why Was Real Madrid’s Penalty Overturned vs. Barcelona?.