‘They have to explain’ – Barcelona’s Deco speaks out on Lewandowski VAR controversy
Barcelona sporting director Deco has spoken out about the weekend’s defeat to Real Sociedad and the decision to disallow a goal by Robert Lewandowski.
Deco has given a fairly measured response to Mundo Deportivo and says the club want answers to ensure such problems do not arise in the future.
“The truth is that it was a goal that was disallowed and they called it incorrectly. But from here on, football must evolve, otherwise we are lost. If it is a matter of semi-automatic control that in the end is useless, then we go back to the other system. Those in charge have to tell us something,” he said.
“We are not saying this because Barça has been harmed, but to improve. If it is a mistake, we have to find a solution, explain why they made a mistake and what can happen. The VAR had to make decisions clearer and make football easier for us, even for those watching at home to understand it and have it explained to them.
“There has already been progress in many things and we have benefited, so to speak, from the semi-automatic control in several offsides. We are not going to go into this, but they have to explain it to us.
“I am not speaking as the sporting director of Barça, but as a football spectator, and I would like to better understand why the decisions were made and, if it is semi-automatic, what risk there is of it not being offside. They have to explain something to us.”
It’s not clear yet if Barcelona will get a response. The VAR chief for the Referees Technical Committee in Spain has already said he thinks the technology did its job at the weekend and that criticism “is normal.”
