Explained: Why VAR overturned Lamine Yamal’s penalty incident involving Vinicius | OneFootball

Real Madrid claimed a 2-1 victory over Barcelona in a fiery and controversial El Clasico at the Santiago Bernabeu, a match that will be remembered as much for Cesar Soto Grado’s refereeing decisions as for the football itself. 

The referee was corrected by VAR on three separate occasions – a fact that reflected poorly on his overall performance.

The most debated moment came in the opening minutes, when Soto Grado awarded Real Madrid a penalty following a challenge between Lamine Yamal and Vinicius Jr. 

The incident divided opinions across Spain, with many insisting that the decision was completely wrong. 

Less than two minutes into the match, Vinicius went down inside the box, prompting Soto Grado to immediately point to the spot.

Why was it overturned?

After the incident, VAR quickly intervened to review the play, revealing that it was, in fact, the Real Madrid winger who initiated contact. 

The replay showed Vinicius attempting to shoot, but striking Yamal’s foot instead – not the other way around. 

As a result, the referee was called to the pitch-side monitor and had no choice but to overturn his original call.

During the review, the dialogue between the VAR room and Soto Grado captured the moment of correction.

“Okay, Cesar, we’re going to show you two images. In them, you can see Lamine putting his foot down first, and it’s Vinicius who hits him from behind.”

After examining the footage, the referee acknowledged the mistake. “Pause it at the moment when Lamine puts his foot down. Okay… there’s no foul there.”

Soto Grado then confirmed the updated decision: “The foul is by Vini, who hits Lamine’s foot from behind. 

“Lamine doesn’t foul Vinicius, so I’m going to give a neutral bounce. I’m going to call the foul because Vini hits Lamine. The foul is correct.”

This moment set the tone for what would be a heated encounter full of tension and disputes.

The controversy didn’t end there. In the closing stages, following Pedri’s red card, tempers flared once again. 

A clash between Vinicius and Yamal reignited hostilities, leading to a mass confrontation between both benches.