No penalty on Alba's shirt pull and needless red for Bernardo as VAR scrutiny continues
Iturralde González, resident referee, says "VAR never gets involved in these plays" but says there is doubt over Bernado's second yellow card in the second half.
VAR continues in the spotlight as Girona were denied a penalty in the 13th minute for a pull of the shirt by Jordi Alba on Cristhian Stuani with Barcelona leading after an early Nelson Semedo goal. The play continued and VAR did not interrupt the game as those in the booth checked it and deemed it not worthy of another look.
During the play, Girona played it down the left and Stuani got a step ahead of Alba in the penalty area. The left-back grabbed his shirt and let it go just as the ball arrived with the Uruguayan falling in a heap only to jump to his feet protesting for a penalty.
Ituralde González, the refereeing specialist for As and with SER, saw the play and had this to say: "There is a pull of the shirt and if it is whistled, you can't say that it's wrong. This is the kind of play that VAR never gets involved in because there is no prolonged pull of the jersey, which would have to happen for VAR to get the referee's attention."
Barcelona also looked for a penalty for a potential handball in the penalty area. The ball was sent in and it hit Pere Pons. The doubt lies in whether it hit his hand or his shoulder. Barcelona players looked for the penalty but play continued and nothing was done about it.
At the start of the second half, Bernardo was sent off for a second yellow card. If the first yellow was harsh, the second was much worse and Iturralde says, "It's not a card, it's a foul and nothing more."
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