Hi community!
Uche's clear grab on the Barça defender was not punished as a penalty, while at the beginning of December a very similar action by Nyom on the Real Madrid centre-back was punished.
FC Barcelona were held to a 1-1 draw away to Getafe, but the story could have been different if referee Pablo González Fuertes had called a penalty for Christantus Uche's foul on Jules Koundé after a corner in the 80th minute. The Getafe player, without looking at the ball at any point, prevented the Barça defender from getting into the shooting area and clearly brought him down inside the area.
https://tribuna.com/es/blogs/2025-01-19-polemica-del-var-en-la-liga-a-kounde-le-niegan-un/
However, and despite having a privileged view of the play, referee González Fuertes quickly denied that there was a penalty by Uche on Koundé and neither did the VAR, with Madrid's Francisco José Hernández Maeso at the helm, warn him to review the controversial action on the monitor on the pitch.
The television images clearly show that Uche grabbed Koundé without the chance to challenge for the ball and the penalty should have been called, but what is more surprising is that a very similar play with Real Madrid as the protagonist was actually called as a penalty just a month and a half ago. On December 1, precisely in the match against Getafe at the Bernabéu, the blue defender Allan Nyon grabbed Antonio Rüdiger at the end of a corner and on that occasion the referee Alejandro José Hernández Hernández called a penalty.
Hernández Hernández's decision on Nyom's tackle on Rüdiger allowed Real Madrid to take the lead, as Bellingham converted the penalty, and most experts agreed that the play was well called.
A month and a half later, the referee's criteria seem to have changed and Uche's play on Koundé was not considered a penalty. We'll see what happens in future clashes inside the box.
See You soon!
Posted Using INLEO