Xavi hinted that the referee sided with Real

Spain coach Xavi said Real benefited and Barca lost six points from refereeing decisions, after the royal team controversially won 3-2 against Almeria in round 21 of La Liga.

After the defeat at the Bernabeu on January 21, Almeria coach Gaizka Garitano heavily criticized the referee's decisions. "This is not the first time something like this has happened to me here," he said angrily.

After the 4-2 win at Real Betis, when asked about Almeria's reaction, Xavi said he sympathized with his colleague Garitano, because Barca had suffered many similar unfavorable decisions in La Liga this season.

"If we speak, we will be punished, but everyone sees that," the Barca coach said. "I have said that it is difficult to win La Liga. There are things we cannot control, and everyone sees that. Barca should have had six more points. This is not an excuse, it is the reality. Luck is always against us."

Coach Xavi directs Barca in their 2-3 loss to host Antwerp in the final round of Group H of the Champions League on December 13. Photo: AFP

At Bernabeu on January 21, Almeria unexpectedly led 2-0 in the first half, thanks to Largie Ramazani and Edgar Gonzalez.

The controversy began in the 55th minute, when referee Francisco Jose Hernandez went to the touchline to review the video and awarded Real a penalty. He determined that Kaiky handled the ball in the penalty area, although slow-motion replays showed that he appeared to have been pushed from behind by Joselu. From the 11m mark, Jude Bellingham fired a low shot into the middle of the goal to reduce the gap.

In the 61st minute, Sergio Arribas scored from close range, hitting the ball past Kepa, helping the visitors regain their two-goal lead. But after going to the sideline to review the video, the referee determined that Dion Lopy had swung his arm at Bellingham in the face during a dispute in the middle of the field. Therefore, he denied Almeria's goal and showed Lopy a yellow card.

Lopy's arm hit Bellingham in the face, causing the referee to disallow Almerica's goal. Screenshot — Lopy's arm hit Bellingham in the face, causing the referee to disallow Almerica's goal. *Screenshot*

Five minutes later, referee Hernandez continued to review the situation and blew the whistle in favor of Real, recognizing Vinicius' goal. Almeria players lined up to watch VAR with the referee and all thought Vinicius scored with his hand, but the referee still confirmed the Brazilian striker used his shoulder to score.

In the two times VAR ruled against him, Almeria coach Gaizka Garitano held his head and groaned. In the seventh minute of injury time, the coach received a second yellow card for his off-field reactions and was sent off. Two minutes later, Bellingham jumped high to head the ball for Dani Carvajal to tap in from close range, making the score 3-2.

Coach Carlo Ancelotti understands Almeria's backlash but believes referee Hernandez and the VAR team made the right decisions. "I reviewed all the situations," the Italian coach said. "I think the referee was right. It was not a VAR decision. VAR advises, and the referee on the field decides. I think he was right."

The top three of La Liga remained unchanged after Girona, Real and Barca all won in round 21. Girona remained at the top of the table with 52 points, one and eight points ahead of Real and Barca respectively, but had played one more game. In the next round, Girona will visit Celta, Real will travel to Las Palmas and Barca will return home to take on Villarreal.

Hong Duy

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