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Angry Barcelona fans in VAR conspiracy claim - so why didn't they get Champions League penalty for blatant handball vs Inter?

  • Barcelona denied penalty in final minutes
  • Pedri had goal disallowed for similar incident
  • Fans claim conspiracy against Barca

WHAT HAPPENED? Barcelona were denied a penalty in the dying embers of their 1-0 Champions League loss against Inter Milan at San Siro, despite replays showing the ball striking the hand of Denzel Dumfries. Xavi's side also saw a goal ruled out after a near-identical incident where the ball flicked off the hand of Ansu Fati before Pedri scored what he believed to be the equaliser.

WHY WASN'T IT GIVEN? The referee, Slavko Vincic, did not immediately give handball, and VAR deemed his decision to not be a 'clear and obvious error'. Dumfries was not looking at the ball, meaning it was not intentional, and this may have swayed VAR's decision to not award a penalty.

STORY IN A PHOTO:

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Barcelona-Inter VAR 2022-23Getty Images

THE REACTION: Barcelona fans believe there could be a conspiracy against them, with the same VAR team being on hand on Tuesday night as there was during their loss at Bayern Munich on matchday two. That night, the Blaugrana were denied a penalty as well, and many fans are not happy with the standard of officiating in the Champions League so far this season.

Barcelona fan VAR tweet 1 TwitterBarcelona fan VAR tweet 2TwitterBarcelona fan VAR tweet 3TwitterBarcelona fan VAR tweet 4Twitter

Blaugrana boss Xavi, meanwhile, vented his fury at the match referees after the game. He said: "We don't understand anything. If there's a hand from Ansu [Fati] and another scores it's a goal, and they disallow it. And the other can't be understood. It's an injustice, the referees should explain because we don't understand."

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