The Technical Committee of Referees, affiliated with the Spanish Football Federation, issued its official ruling on Tuesday regarding the controversial incident in the La Liga match between Barcelona and Atlético Madrid last Saturday.
The first of three matches between Atlético Madrid and Barcelona this April sparked widespread controversy over the use of Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology and refereeing decisions.
Atlético Madrid criticised referee Bosquets Ferrer’s decision to rescind the red card shown to Barça player Gerard Martín and will seek clarification from the Referees’ Technical Committee.
Gerard Martín attempted to pass the ball, touched it, but stepped on Almada’s ankle. Referee Bosquets Ferrer deemed this a serious foul and showed a red card, but Mileru López, from the VAR room, objected to the decision and called the referee to reverse it, which he did.
According to the newspaper "AS", the Technical Committee of Referees (CTA) acknowledged today, Tuesday, on the programme "Tiempo de Revisión", that the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) should not have intervened in the Atlético Madrid v Barcelona match to reduce Gerard Martín’s punishment from a red card to a yellow card.
The committee also emphasised that referee Busquets Ferrer should have stood by his decision to send off the Barcelona player.
The Technical Committee of Referees reviewed the incident during the review session and confirmed the validity of the sending-off decision, which was subsequently overturned.
It stated: “This is a serious case of violent play, regardless of who touched the ball first. The correct disciplinary sanction is a red card.”
The committee compared the incident to the Real Betis v Rayo match, which it also confirmed warranted a red card.
It added: “The Technical Committee of Referees considers that the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) should not have intervened, as the decision by the referee on the pitch was correct. The VAR’s recommendation to review the incident led to an incorrect amendment of a decision that had been correctly made during the match. The referee should have stood by his initial decision.”
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