VAR audio reveals why Real Madrid were awarded penalty in Eric Garcia incident | OneFootball

Real Madrid’s 2-1 victory over Barcelona was overshadowed by a flashpoint in the second half when referee Cesar Soto Grado awarded a penalty after a ricochet involving Jude Bellingham and Eric Garcia. 

The decision – and the VAR review that led to it – immediately ignited protests from Barcelona players, and it became the defining talking point. 

The sequence began as Bellingham moved the ball towards the centre of the penalty area.

Garcia slid in for a challenge; the ball bounced off the Barcelona defender, then off Bellingham, and struck Garcia’s hand as it appeared to be nearly out of play. 

VAR audio of the event

Before Soto Grado made his final call, he was explicitly told to review the footage for the position of the hand and the overall action. 

The VAR room’s instruction to the referee is recorded, which gives an insight into the reasoning behind the decision.

“Cesar, I recommend you review this to assess a possible penalty for handball. 

“I’m going to show you the position of the hand, which I believe is a punishable position, and the entire action for you to assess. We’ll switch cameras there,” he was told.

After the replay was paused and examined from multiple angles, the VAR officials urged the referee to focus on the height and placement of Garcia’s arm, arguing it covered space and met the criteria discussed in officiating seminars. 

The referee then explained his conclusion to the VAR room in detail.

“He hits it there, then there’s a second bounce. Give me another image from behind. And now give me a close-up to see if there’s a player behind. Stop it when it’s high. 

“The position of that hand is very high. It rebounds first off Eric and then off Bellingham. That ball goes over there, and that hand position is up, as we have explained in a seminar. 

“That hand position is very high. It is not low, and it is covering a space. I’m going to call a penalty,” decided the referee 

The spot-kick itself was saved by Wojciech Szczesny, a moment that gave Barcelona a lifeline amid mounting controversy and kept the match competitive to the final whistle.