Reason for Video Technology Delay in Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid Match

The technical refereeing committee explained the reasons for the significant delay in the VAR decision to cancel Pau Cubarsi’s goal during the first leg of the Spanish King’s Cup semi-final between Barcelona and Atletico Madrid at the Metropolitano Stadium.

The committee confirmed, as reported by the Spanish newspaper “Marca,” that the video assistant referee team used a semi-automated offside system to analyze the goal. However, the system encountered a glitch in modeling the players through skeletal structures due to the density of players in the shot area.

He added: “After attempting to recalibrate the system and confirming its failure, according to protocol, the team was forced to manually draw the offside lines to make the final and correct decision. This resulted in an exceptional extension of the analysis time and the inability to show a replay of the goal on the television broadcast.”

The report indicated that the delay in announcing the decision to cancel the goal lasted about seven minutes, prompting the players to warm up and touch the ball to avoid losing body heat and stay in the match atmosphere.