Joan Laporta's outlandish statement only served to highlight one of the biggest – and most baffling – issues in Spanish football
It took Joan Laporta four minutes to highlight the biggest issue in Spanish football. The Barcelona president released a scathing video on Monday, criticising – in no particular order – the Spanish football federation, La Liga, referee Cesar Soto and Real Madrid after Barca had a goal controversially denied in Sunday's Clasico.
In the clip, Laporta called for a thorough review of what could have been a game-changing goal. Lamine Yamal's clever near-post flick seemed to have crossed the line before Andriy Lunin shovelled it away, but La Liga's lack of goal-line technology meant the decision had to be sent to VAR – which couldn't make a clear decision as to whether the ball was in the net. The game remained tied at 1-1, and Los Blancos eventually won it, 3-2.
The incident brought Spanish football's most puzzling omission to the fore. The league, usually so effectively run, and clever adopters of the ever-controversial VAR, don't utilise the goal-line capabilities that are now standard across Europe. And although Laporta's childish gripes and silly calls for a replay are unwarranted, his central argument highlights that Spanish football cannot wait any longer to implement the technology it has curiously ignored for so long.
Getty Images'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."
AdvertisementGetty/GoalLa 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.
GettyTebas' 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.
GettyModel 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.