Not even a minute had passed in the second half when Gerard Martin saw the red card after hitting Thiago Almada in a tough entry. The Barcelona footballer, after contacting the ball, hit the Argentine’s ankle with his studs. The referee Mateu Busquets Ferrer did not hesitate for a second and sent off the Barca youth player. Then, Melero Lopez He was notified by the VAR to review the action.
The Andalusian was in charge of asking the referee to review the action as can be seen in the VAR audios published by the RFEF on its social networks: “I recommend a review so that you can assess a possible cancellation of the red card that you have shown.. When you are on the monitor, let me know,” Melero warned from the VOR room.
To continue explaining the action according to your opinion: “I’m going to release it directly to you in dynamics so you can evaluate the action. In my opinion it is an action in which the Barcelona player plays the ball in a normal way, a normal dynamic of the game, plays the ball and then contact with the Atlético player occurs naturally.”, the Andalusian continued to assure from the VAR.
After reviewing the action on the monitor and listening to his teammate in the video arbitration room, Busquets Ferrer made the decision to annul the red card and give the Barcelona player a yellow card. “Okay, the Barcelona player with ball control, plays the ball and then steps on it in a normal dynamic. I’m going to cancel the red and show you yellow“. A decision that sparked controversy after a video of a practically identical play between Valentín Gómez and Ratiu went viral, which the CTA called the non-expulsion of the Betis player an error.
