Espanyol is asking for a replay of the match with Atletico!

In a statement issued on Thursday, Espanyol emphasizes that there was a violation of the VAR protocol in Antoine Griezmann’s goal in the match against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday at Corneal Prat for the 36th matchday of La Liga and underlines that in none of its shots phase the ball does not seem to have crossed the line in the effort of the French international striker.

Thus, he leaves open the possibility of taking legal action to have the match replayed, so that he can claim with better conditions to stay in the category.

Espanyol’s announcement in detail:

“As soon as the match against Atlético Madrid ended, Espanyol officially requested from the Technical Committee of Referees (CTA) the image or sequence that would provide the evidence for Atlético’s second goal in a decision made by VAR as a correction to the decision made the referee Mario Melero Lopez inside the field. Let’s remember that, as the rules themselves state, for an on-field referee’s decision to be overturned by VAR there must be a definitive and clear picture of it.

This afternoon we received a response from the head of VAR, Carlos Clos Gomet, informing us that, based on current regulations, it is not possible to provide us with images or conversations about the decisions made in the VAR room, confirming however , that the image used to overturn the referee’s decision and count Atletico’s second goal was the one shown on television, with the angle known as “spider cam”.

Based on the above, Espanyol would like to declare that:

1. The only image used to award the goal offers a shot from which it is impossible to determine whether the ball has gone in or not. Furthermore, all of the club and third party analysis that we had access to would prove – to the contrary – that the ball did not cross the goal line at any point in its entirety.

2. This procedure violates the VAR protocol, since it corrects a refereeing decision without a definitive proof of it. Therefore, there is match-fixing and clear negligence in the application of the rules and the use of available technology, resulting in irreparable damage to our club in the result of yesterday’s match and therefore our position in the standings.

3.Furthermore, we believe that a precedent has been set this week that sets a new example in the administration of sporting justice in Spanish football, as the Competition Commission intervenes in decisions previously made on the pitch and in VAR. After the Valencia-Real Madrid match, the said Commission understood that in an action of that match the use of the technology and available images by the VAR referees “was completely partial, biased and decisive for the referee’s error in assessing what happened”. From all the above, it was decided to withdraw a red card shown to Vinicius.

This new example should have been used, in our opinion, in this case, and it should also have been applied by the Commission, among other examples, in the match we played on matchday 33 at the ‘Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan’ against Sevilla, who was awarded Sevilla’s first goal in a move that had been preceded by a foul on our player Brian Olivan. Without giving the possibility to the referee of the field to see a reception from the VAR, in which the foul was clear.

4. Due to all of the above, Espanyol considers that its rights are being violated and it has suffered serious damage. For this reason, we will therefore proceed to challenge the match that took place yesterday and, therefore, we will request that there be a decision to cancel it.

Likewise, Espanyol, in defense of its legal interests, is considering possible additional legal actions for the possible damage resulting from this action. It is extremely important to state that we do not intend to denounce the existence of human dietary error, inherent in the very nature of sport.

What Espanyol is alleging before the RFEF Competition Committee is the existence of gross negligence on the part of the refereeing team appointed for the aforementioned match and, in particular, by the VAR referees appointed by the RFEF. Of which, at the same time and in a clear way, a flagrant error arises, causing irreparable damage to Espanyo with both sporting and potential financial consequences.

We understand that it is incompatible to boast of the highest standards and watch a ‘partial and biased’ use of clearly inadequate technology. The ambition to have the best league in the world requires events as well as good intentions.”