Analysis of VAR Decisions in Spanish Football: A Review by the Technical Committee

The Technical Committee of Referees (CTA) has officially acknowledged 10 errors among the 51 reviewed plays this season, utilizing the new Review Time format introduced by the RFEF to analyze and educate on controversial decisions in La Liga, Segunda, and the Women’s League.

These reviewed plays do not encompass all VAR interventions, which could easily double that number. The selections made over the course of 18 matchdays, nearly a complete first half of the season, were chosen by an Advisory Committee comprising coaches José Luis Oltra, José Ramón Sandoval, and José Luis Sánchez Vera, along with former footballer Fernando Morientes, and their analyses carry significant weight as authoritative insights from the CTA.

Among the 10 incorrectly officiated decisions, the analysis indicates a notable advantage for Atlético de Madrid. This includes a missed offside call involving Giuliano against Alavés, where the VAR failed to recognize the player’s illegal position, and a foul by Koke on Rayo Vallecano’s goalkeeper, Batalla, which should have resulted in a red card according to the CTA’s assessment.

Barcelona also benefited from a clear error with a foul not called on Raíllo, which ultimately led to a delayed goal. Other teams such as Real Sociedad (Huijsen against Madrid), Athletic Club (penalty on Nico in Vigo), Alavés (unawarded penalty against Rayo), Mallorca (no red card for their goalkeeper against Athletic), and Rayo Vallecano (a penalty not awarded to Espanyol) have also received formal acknowledgment of errors in their favor.

Conversely, Real Madrid is cited as disadvantaged in the well-known incident involving Huijsen in San Sebastián, where while the VAR did not intervene due to its ambiguous nature, the CTA emphasized that the referee should have issued a yellow card instead.

Rayo Vallecano stands out as the team most adversely affected, with two controversial calls (Batalla’s foul and Alemao’s prolonged hold against Alavés) alongside Real Madrid. Other affected teams include Espanyol (Mendy’s handball not penalized even after VAR review), Celta (recent penalty on Nico where VAR should not have intervened), Athletic (a foul on Maroan by goalkeeper Leo Román that went unpunished), Mallorca (the handball incident involving Raíllo against Barcelona), and Alavés (the incident against Atlético).

In two matches (Elche-Athletic and Valencia-Villarreal), the VAR was misapplied, but the referee maintained consistency, resulting in no advantage or disadvantage for either team.

In the remaining plays examined in La Liga, the CTA concluded that the VAR either appropriately advised the referee or wisely chose not to intervene, allowing the referee’s judgment to prevail. Notably, there was a single case where a decision against Madrid was rectified—the handball by Eric García at the Bernabéu.

For the rest of the VAR interventions favoring Real Madrid, they either resulted from allowing plays to continue or by cancelling prior favorable decisions. Barcelona and Atlético de Madrid, currently first and third in La Liga, have similar statistics regarding VAR interventions—Barcelona benefitted from a just penalty awarded to them (Bartra’s foul) while also experiencing a just call against them (a non-goal against Osasuna). Atlético Madrid faced two just calls against them (Sorloth’s red card and a disallowed goal for Baena against Osasuna due to Griezmann’s obstruction). Of the four occasions where VAR rightly did not intervene for Atlético, three occurred during their derby against Madrid.

The new Review Time format marks a historic initiative in Spanish football, aimed at enhancing the understanding of refereeing decisions among players, coaches, and fans, with transparency and engagement being the central themes of all actions taken by the CTA, now led by the current head of the Technical Committee of Referees, Fran Soto.