Relevo Releases VAR Audio Transcript of Controversial Real Madrid vs. Atlético Madrid Penalty Decision

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Perhaps most astoundingly, sports media outlet Relevo has published the full audio transcript of the Video Assistant Referee discussion that led to the contentious penalty awarded during the recent Madrid derby between Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid. The match was held at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium and ended with a 1-1 draw, but that penalty has now become a hot topic of discussion among fans, players, and analysts alike.

Incident Overview

In the 29th minute of the game, Atlético’s Samuel Lino was involved in an incident with Real Madrid’s Aurélien Tchouaméni inside the penalty area. On-field referee César Soto Grado did not immediately indicate a foul. After a suggestion from the VAR team, led by De Burgos Bengoetxea, Soto Grado went to the pitchside monitor to review the incident. Then, he penalized Atlético Madrid, and Julián Álvarez turned it into a goal, which briefly put his team in the lead.

Transcript Details

Relevo’s publication goes deep into the analysis of the play. The transcript goes like this:

VAR (De Burgos Bengoetxea): “César, te recomiendo valorar un posible penalti.” (“César, I recommend you assess a possible penalty.”)

Referee (Soto Grado): “Sí, cuando estés delante del monitor, hablamos.” (“Yes, when you’re in front of the monitor, we’ll talk.”)

VAR: “Esta es la acción, la tengo barrida, no es muy nítida pero luego te pongo otra con más calidad. Ahora te voy a poner otra con más calidad, para que ve.” (“This is the action, I have it swept, it’s not very clear but then I’ll show you another with better quality. Now I’m going to show you another with better quality, so you can see the stomp.

Referee: “Le pisa con los tacos.” (“He steps on him with the studs.”)

Referee: “Dame otra, a ver si tienes una que se vea por detrás.” (“Give me another one, let’s see if you have one that can be seen from behind.”)

VAR: “Son las de mejor calidad, las demás están muy barridas.” (“These are the best quality ones, the others are very swept.”)

Referee: “Venga, voy a p. ” (“Okay, I’m going to call a penalty but I am not giving a warning. Penalty in favor of Atlético de Madrid.”

VAR: “Perfect.”

This just goes to show how even officials sometimes have to make fundamental decisions when what they are watching is not clear enough. Even the VAR team admitted the quality of the footage was poor, yet the referee still gave the penalty based on what was available.

The emergence of the audio has brought heated debate in the football circles. Real Madrid’s fans, and some experts, have taken their dissatisfaction from the decision of the referee without a clear ‘visible’ proof; others are convinced that he followed the procedure by giving his judgment as accurately as possible considering the situation:.

For his part, the former referee, currently an analyst, Iturralde González, said in that respect, “Es penalti. El CTA, que es el que. “. (“It’s a penalty. The CTA, which is in charge of dictating the refereeing criteria, establishes that if one steps inside the area in a dispute over the ball, it is a penalty.”)

Implications of The Incident

This incident underlines the continuous problems that are associated with the use of VAR technology in football. While it’s fair to say that VAR tries to bring clarity and fairness into the game, problems of image quality and subjective judgment can always raise controversies. Finding a balance between technological assistance and human officiating is a constant struggle within the football world.