Barcelona’s Xavi Voices Frustration Over Disallowed Goal in El Clasico Loss
In a contentious El Clasico encounter, Barcelona suffered a 3-2 defeat against Real Madrid, with coach Xavi lamenting the officiating and the absence of goal-line technology in La Liga.
Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr and Lucas Vazquez found the net to equalize twice, canceling out goals from Barcelona’s Andreas Christensen and Fermin Lopez.
A pivotal moment occurred in the 28th minute when Lamine Yamal’s goal was disallowed by VAR after it seemingly crossed the line before being cleared by Real Madrid goalkeeper Andrey Lunin. Despite VAR review, the goal was denied, leaving Barcelona frustrated and leading to Xavi’s criticism of the refereeing decisions.
The match culminated in Jude Bellingham’s 91st-minute winner, securing Real Madrid’s fourth consecutive victory over Barcelona and widening the gap to 11 points between the two sides in the LaLiga standings, making it a daunting task for Barcelona to catch up with just six games remaining.
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Expressing his frustration, Xavi stated, “We can’t control them. These are refereeing actions. I think the team is doing very well, we competed very well, we were better than Real on their own pitch and I think we deserved the three points in every way.” He described the match as one of “maximum injustice,” highlighting the perceived unfairness of the decisions made.
Notably, LaLiga stands out as the only top-five European league without the implementation of goal-line technology, a fact that has drawn criticism from Barcelona fans. In response to the outcry, LaLiga chief Javier Tebas cited past incidents where the technology was deemed inaccurate, opting not to implement it.
Having been recently eliminated from the Champions League, Barcelona now turn their attention to their upcoming LaLiga clash against Valencia on April 29, aiming to bounce back from the disappointment of the El Clasico defeat.