FC Barcelona’s 3-2 win over Levante in La Liga left fans with mixed feelings after the game. While many were happy about the result, more concerns have grown about the referee decisions in La Liga.
In the first half, the referee awarded a penalty for Levante just before halftime, which involved the ball striking Alejandro Balde’s arm. The Barcelona left back and many Barcelona fans were in shock with the decision.
The referee did not award the penalty at first, but after the VAR suggested checking the monitor on the replay, referee Alejandro Hernandez Hernanadez quickly decided to give it.
The ball does strike Balde’s arm, but many suggest that the player’s arm is close to his body. The referee’s audio reveals that he does think that Balde’s hand is away from his body when blocking the shot.
Hernandez Hernandez: “The hand is clearly away from the body. The shot is heading towards the goal. Penalty, no card. Just a penalty.”
Alejandro Balde’s Social Media Post
After the win, Balde took to social media to challenge the decision with a still image of the ball’s impact on him. Balde used an image to describe his feelings towards the decision and believes it was wrong.
He reposted the image from 433 on Instagram, where a poll was made on the penalty decision. 63% believe that the play shouldn’t have been a penalty.
After the game, Pedri referred to the 4-3 win over Real Madrid last season in La Liga that involved a shot from Ferran Torres that hit Aurelien Tchouameni’s hand. That play was not called as a penalty, and Pedri believes that it looked more like a penalty than the one against Balde.
Barcelona fans online found out that the referee vs Levante is the same one against Real Madrid, where he didn’t call the Tchouameni handball, adding more pressure on referee decisions in Spain.