Real Betis have been dragged into another refereeing storm after Giovani Lo Celso's goal against Barcelona was wiped out. Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea scrapped it following a VAR review, punishing an earlier handball by Colombian Cucho Hernandez. Critics argued the offence came nowhere near the moment the ball hit the net, and they pointed straight to a near-identical incident in the Clasico between Barcelona and Real Madrid two seasons ago.
Spanish website "Defensa Central", which is close to Real Madrid, claimed the decision had reopened the debate over consistency in refereeing standards. The outlet recalled Frenkie de Jong touching the ball with his hand in a meeting with Real Madrid, moments before Lamine Yamal found the net for Barcelona. Different treatment, same scenario, and Barcelona came out on top both times, according to the report.
Around 30 seconds passed between de Jong's handball and Yamal's goal, with Real Madrid never touching the ball in between. Cucho Hernandez's handball and Lo Celso's strike were separated by just 15 seconds, and Barcelona's players got a touch twice. The website argued VAR had applied two different standards to two near-identical situations.
Some interpretations justify the split decision by claiming the handball was deliberate in one of the cases. For the website, though, it's the colour of the shirts that casts doubt over the consistency of the calls.
Had Betis been facing Real Madrid, the report argued, the goal would have stood. And Madrid's goal would have gone the other way. That, in the website's view, is the definition of double standards.
Timing wasn't the only sticking point. The report also weighed up how each handball happened. De Jong touched the ball with his hand without direct supervision, while Cucho Hernandez took a heavy shove that sent the ball onto his arm instead of his chest.
Those details, the website said, deepen the question marks over the ruling. Lo Celso's goal had come at the end of a flowing attack and was finished off with a superb strike from the Argentine.
"Defensa Central" insisted this is far from the first time Barcelona have been handed a favour by officials. The repetition of such cases, according to the report, has hardened a belief inside Real Madrid that the Catalan side enjoys a margin of refereeing protection, and that winning the title becomes near impossible unless Madrid establish clear superiority over their rivals.
Two near-identical incidents, two opposite outcomes. For the website, that's proof the standards aren't being applied evenly. It signed off by reaching for Jose Mourinho's famous line: "The truth has been exposed", a nod to the rumbling controversy over Spanish refereeing.