CTA says Beltrán incident was a penalty but VAR should have checked earlier foul | OneFootball

Spain's referees' committee has ruled that Rubén Sánchez's contact on Lucas Beltrán was a punishable foul, worthy of a penalty. The verdict, delivered in its Tiempo de revisión section, follows the outcry after Espanyol's defeat at Mestalla on Saturday, fuelled by national coverage, particularly around Madrid. It also said VAR should have reviewed an earlier incident.

Had that initial shirt pull by Ramazzani on the Espanyol defender been penalised, the spot-kick given by Alejandro Hernández should have been cancelled. Nevertheless, the contact in the box was clearly a foul on Beltrán, as he was stepped on while advancing.

Ramazani converted the penalty, sealing Valencia's 3-2 win over Espanyol on matchday 21 of LaLiga.

The contact amounted to an imprudent step on the forward that prevented him continuing the move.

On Tuesday a delegation from RCD Espanyol, comprising directors Mao Ye and Antonio Dávila and first-team delegate Guillem Calzón, met CTA representatives at the committee's headquarters to express their dissatisfaction with recent refereeing decisions.

Source: Superdeporte