A new angle on Lamine Yamal’s ‘phantom goal’ for Barcelona against Real Madrid has emerged.
LaLiga came under fire during Sunday’s El Clasico showdown at the Bernabeu after the 16-year-old thought he had given the Catalans the lead with a tap-in from a corner.
Yamal’s effort appeared to have beaten goalkeeper Andriy Lunin before the Ukrainian managed to tap the ball away from goal.
The match was tied at 1-1 at that time, but the Spanish top player does not have goal-line technology.
As a result, the referee allowed play to continue and VAR was unable to confirm whether the line had indeed been crossed as only two corners were available on the replay.
A new angle on Lamine Yamal’s ‘phantom goal’ for Barcelona against Real Madrid has emerged
Yamal’s goal appeared to have gone over the line, but the goal was not awarded after a VAR check
However, a new angle on the incident emerged where Yamal’s attempt (below left) appeared to have gone over the line, with Real keeper Lunin clearing the ball from behind the line.
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However, in one clip, a new angle on the supposed target was shared Redditwhere it appears as if the ball has crossed the goal line.
In the video, Real’s stopper Lunin can be seen in his goal, desperately trying to scoop the ball away, but the goal was not given.
This meant Yamal could not add El Clasico’s youngest-ever goalscorer to his growing list of achievements.
LaLiga’s attitude to goal-line technology is different to that of the Premier League, who have the technology to resolve such incidents within seconds, with referees receiving a signal on their watch telling them whether the ball has crossed the line or not.
Spanish outlet El Larguero reported that La Liga president Javier Tebas does not want to pay the £2.6 million in technology costs.
Fans couldn’t believe Yamal’s strike wasn’t given as a goal, but Tebas was quick to defend the lack of technology in his league.
The LaLiga president posted a series of articles highlighting times when goalline technology has made mistakes, including an infamous ghost goal from Sheffield United’s 2020 Premier League match with Aston Villa.
Tebas wrote ‘no comment’ on the images on X, in a clear response to the criticism.
Meanwhile, Barcelona coach Xavi raged over yet more perceived injustice by the referees after Lamal’s phantom goal.
“I’m not going to say anything about the referee because if I do I’ll get a suspension, but it was there for everyone to see,” he said. ‘We were the better team tonight and deserved to win.
Javier Tebas reminded supporters that even goal-line technology can make mistakes
In a series of photos, Tebas shared incidents where goal-line technology had gone wrong
Barcelona boss Xavi was furious over the incident, which is believed to have ended his side’s title hopes
‘The referee didn’t get any decision right. It is a shame and we cannot remain silent.
‘I was hoping the referee would either go unnoticed or make his decisions correctly, but it was neither.’
Lamal’s phantom goal was a precious moment for Barcelona as although they took the lead in the second half through Fermin Lopez, Lucas Vazquez equalized before Jude Bellingham struck an injury-time winner.
This means the LaLiga title race is all but over, with Real 11 points clear with just six games to play as they chase a record-extending 36th domestic crown.