Barcelona President Joan Laporta has never been one for suppressing his emotions, and when the Blaugrana saw Robert Lewandowski’s goal disallowed for a dubious offside goal on Sunday, he did not break tradition. Manager Hansi Flick told the press that the decision was incorrect, while the Referees Committee (CTA) maintain that the correct decision was made.
The Catalan giants are still baffled as to why Lewandowski’s goal was not allowed to stand, with only a graphic which shows body parts of the two players confused presented by the CTA as evidence of the offside. They maintain that the Hawkeye system is beyond doubt, and took a different frame of reference for the decision than the one shown on television, and that their system has more cameras involved.
However Laporta and his Barcelona delegation, including VP Rafa Yuste, Alejandro Echevarria, Sporting Director Deco and assistant Bojan Krkic, grew increasingly incensed by the decision when shown the images at half-time. The dressing room was also affected by the decision, conscious that there were doubts over the call.
As per Relevo, Barcelona will request an explanation from the Spanish Football Federation. They are not looking to question the system, but rather understand exactly what the criteria were, how the decision was made, and what evidence there is of the offside.
It turned out to be a costly decision for the league leaders, who dropped their second defeat of the season at Anoeta. Few debated the merit of Real Sociedad’s win, but equally a goal that early likely would have changed the equation. As it stands, Barcelona are six points clear of Real Madrid, who have a game in hand.
