Angry Barcelona fans in VAR conspiracy claim - so why didn't they get Champions League penalty for blatant handball vs Inter?
- Barcelona denied penalty in final minutes
- Pedri had goal disallowed for similar incident
- Fans claim conspiracy against Barca
WHAT HAPPENED? Barcelona were denied a penalty in the dying embers of their 1-0 Champions League loss against Inter Milan at San Siro, despite replays showing the ball striking the hand of Denzel Dumfries. Xavi's side also saw a goal ruled out after a near-identical incident where the ball flicked off the hand of Ansu Fati before Pedri scored what he believed to be the equaliser.
Barcelona were denied a late penalty in the final moments of their match against Inter last night... 😲
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) October 5, 2022
Was it the right call from the referee?#UCL pic.twitter.com/0ynT1YR0NI
WHY WASN'T IT GIVEN? The referee, Slavko Vincic, did not immediately give handball, and VAR deemed his decision to not be a 'clear and obvious error'. Dumfries was not looking at the ball, meaning it was not intentional, and this may have swayed VAR's decision to not award a penalty.
STORY IN A PHOTO:
THE REACTION: Barcelona fans believe there could be a conspiracy against them, with the same VAR team being on hand on Tuesday night as there was during their loss at Bayern Munich on matchday two. That night, the Blaugrana were denied a penalty as well, and many fans are not happy with the standard of officiating in the Champions League so far this season.
Blaugrana boss Xavi, meanwhile, vented his fury at the match referees after the game. He said: "We don't understand anything. If there's a hand from Ansu [Fati] and another scores it's a goal, and they disallow it. And the other can't be understood. It's an injustice, the referees should explain because we don't understand."