The situation
Atlético left San Sebastián with a mixture of anger and disbelief . In the match against Real Sociedad, he saw how the VAR called Soto Grado to annul Morata’s second goal due to a previous handball by João Félix, when he apparently ended up accidentally touching his biceps during his shot attempt. The subsequent clearance fell to the battering ram, who managed to score, but after reviewing it on the monitor, the goal was disallowed. However, in the second half Sadiq finished off with a header and later hit his hand, slightly modifying the trajectory. The rule explains that if a player accidentally hits the ball with his hand or arm and immediately scores, that goal will be disallowed, so there was no doubt in the red-and-white expedition after seeing the few replays broadcast on television. But, after a few seconds with his hand to the earpiece, Soto Grado had the green light from the VAR and conceded the equalizer for Real Sociedad. At Atlético, the players were getting desperate and some of them were losing their nerve, like Morata himself who claimed that he received fouls over and over again when he tried to play from behind and ended up being the striker himself who was booked. And, to end the bad refereeing afternoon, already in injury time Griezmann threw the wall with Koke, he was fouled, but the ball remained for the captain. As he sent a pass between the lines, Soto Grado blew his whistle to call a foul before Correa received Koke’s pass and scored in heads-up play. Although it seemed so, it could not be confirmed if the Argentine player was enabled, since as he had whistled before he was not valid in any case.
The details
A goal annulled for not decreeing the advantage law. Tomás Reñones, Atlético’s team manager, spoke on the club’s social networks. “You have to understand that the referees can have bad days , today is a clear example that it has been very bad and the general feeling is one of great disappointment. We have seen different criteria, the referees give us a talk at the beginning of the season and then the criteria is completely different. We have seen a goal disallowed because João hit him in the arm and later there is a play by Real Sociedad where he shoots, hits him in the arm, enters and the VAR does not appear.I don’t understand the criteria, we spend fortunes on VAR and the criteria are still personal. João and Morata were unable to play throughout the game due to the constant fouls that were not called and the cards were taken by us. And in the end you can score a goal and the referee himself does not let the play finish to see how it ends, he cuts it off before time . It is a continuous nonsense. The referees can make mistakes, but what are the consequences for us? The moves are allowed to continue and then are valued. It’s not my feeling, it’s from the locker room, the club and everyone who has been able to see it on television”.