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The Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has published recordings of conversations between referee Mateo Busquets Ferrer and the VAR center regarding the cancellation of the decision to send off Barcelona defender Gerard Martin in the match against Atletico (2:1) of the 30th round of the Spanish La Liga, reports Mundo Deportivo.
“Mateo, I recommend watching the video to assess the possible cancellation of the red card. In my opinion, this is the moment when the Barcelona player plays the ball normally, within the natural dynamics of the game, and then the contact with the Atletico player occurs naturally,” the VAR room said. To this, the referee, after reviewing the incident, replied: “Okay, the Barcelona player controls the ball, plays it, then attacks. The natural continuation of the game. I will cancel the red card and show him a yellow card, okay?” The VAR replied: “That’s right, I agree.”
In the 46th minute of the match, the Catalan defender, while trying to take the ball, hit Atletico midfielder Thiago Almada with his nails in the leg. After reviewing the VAR, the referee decided that the player had previously played with the ball and canceled the red card.