Does the Negreira case live on? Referee allowed Yamal's controversial goal against Alavés
Barcelona ran riot against Alavés in their La Liga matchday 11 clash, cruising to a 6-1 victory. However, one of the most hotly debated moments of the game was Lamine Yamal's second goal, which raised questions about the officiating team's performance.
In the 65th minute, the Spanish wonderkid completed his brace and took his goal tally across all competitions this season to 16. The goal was initially questioned due to a possible offside. The freeze-frame appeared to suggest that Yamal may have been marginally offside. Nevertheless, after a VAR review, the referee upheld the decision and awarded the goal. The controversial VAR call is certain to spark further debate among fans and football pundits.
The controversial incident inevitably brought the Negreira case back into the spotlight — one of the biggest scandals in Spanish football. The case concerns payments made by Barcelona totaling around €7.3 million to companies linked to José María Enríquez Negreira, the former vice-president of Spain's Technical Committee of Referees. The payments were made between 2001 and 2018, and the judicial investigation remains ongoing.
Jan Novak
Dailysports's expert
