VAR's double standards: What Real Madrid get and Barcelona do not...
What was the difference between Benzema's goal vs. La Real and Messi's in Supercopa?
Two very similar plays but two very different resolutions. While on Sunday, the referee and the VAR deemed that Karim Benzema's goal, which gave Real Madrid three vital points against Real Sociedad, was legal, a few months ago the same action from Lionel Messi not only ruled out his goal against Atletico Madrid in the Spanish Supercopa, but also impeded Barcelona winning the competition.
On Sunday, VAR said Benzema's goal was valid despite the debatable way he controlled the ball before scoring. The French forward used a mix of arm and shoulder; then turned to beat Remiro and make it 2-0. The Real Sociedad players surrounded the referee. VAR, though, backed the decision in favour of Madrid.
The opposite happened in January in Saudi Arabia. The referee in that game, Gonzalez Gonzalez, cancelled Messi's goal that would have put Barça out of Atletico's reach. The claim was Messi had handled the ball. Atletico went on to win 3-2. The image was the same as Benzema in San Sebastian. But the decisions couldn't have been more different.
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