The referee s 6 misjudgments sparked controversy, and the Spanish derby became a joke?

On May 12, 2025, in the Spanish national derby, Barcelona struggled to defeat Real Madrid with a score of 4-3, successfully achieving a "four consecutive kills" against their mortal enemies in a single season. However, this duel, which should have been purely charming for football, became a controversial vortex due to the referee's 6 key misjudgments.

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The Western media "World Sports" bluntly stated: "Barcelona won but was still robbed." On the surface, this was a thrilling victory; in secret, it was the defeat of the referee system and the fall of competitive fairness. When VAR technology (video assistant referee technology) became a decoration, and when the rules were executed selectively, the originally vivid soul of football is now like suffering from the ruthless lingchi of power and prejudice. The

dispute begins in the opening 3 minutes. Mbappe rushed into the penalty area and was tripped by the opponent. The referee Hernandez decided to make a penalty kick based on this. However, the slow-motion replay shows that when Ku and Brazil made a mistake, Mbappe was already in an offside position.

Although VAR intervened and confirmed the offside situation, he did not trace the possible fake fall behavior of Mbappe - if there was no offside situation, he should have been shown a yellow card for diving. The penalty sets the tone for the competition; technology could have corrected errors, but human nature chose to favoritism.

In the 14th minute, Valverde was not called by the referee for his stampede on Yamal. Real Madrid took this opportunity to further expand the score.

Western media pointed out that the referee team's "turning a blind eye" to fouls completely trampled on the competition principle of "protecting players". When technology becomes a fig leaf, the referee's authority becomes the most controversial penalty for power, appearing in the 37th minute, and 80th minute.

Chu Ameni, as the last defensive player, pushed Ferran down, who was a solo player, and only received a yellow card to escape the red card; then he handballed in the penalty area, and the referee refused to award a penalty on the grounds that his arm was naturally sagging.

According to the rules, the former should be directly shown a red card; the latter has changed the trajectory of the ball due to the opening of his arm and needs to be awarded a penalty.

What is more ironic is that both VAR interventions maintained the original judgment.

As fans sarcastically said: "Real Madrid starts more than 11 people, and the referee is the 12th player."

Barcelona is not completely innocent. In the 32nd minute, De Jong slowly opened his arms when his chest stopped. However, the referee did not award his handball, and this situation became one of Barcelona's few moments of profitability.

But this just reveals the chaos of the referee standards: in the same game, such actions were subject to differentiated rulings due to the differences in the team.

When law enforcement loses consistency, competition becomes a game of thrills in the 95th minute, Fermin's goal was cancelled by VAR due to handball. However, the rules clearly stipulate that "the subsequent actions will not be traced back" - the referee team once again launched law enforcement actions selectively, transforming the charm left by victory into the final chapter of the absurd drama. Behind the farce

is the adverse consequence of Real Madrid's long-term pressure on the referee community. "Daily Sports News" disclosed that it has become a routine for Real Madrid TV to put pressure on the referee before the game; and the referee industry's "fear of Real Madrid" has led to an increasingly significant tendency to make the penalty. When clubs can use public opinion to bind justice, football is no longer just an arena, but also a place for capital and privilege to fight. Barcelona's choice not to appeal seemed to maintain its demeanor, but in fact it was a helpless move by the weak in the face of systemic injustice. The referee dispute at the

National Derby is just a small reflection of the long-standing ills of modern football.

VAR was originally born to eliminate misjudgment, but it became a tool because of human intervention; rules were originally intended to ensure fairness, but they became useless due to the existence of double standards.

When fans kept arguing about "whether the handball was hanging naturally", football had lost its most initial passion and purity.

Perhaps only by thoroughly reforming the referee selection mechanism and cutting off the interest link between the club and the law enforcement officers can the green field return to purity. Otherwise, every "victory" will be just a footnote to the Game of Thrones, not a praise of sports spirit

Data source details

Dispute penalty details and Western media criticism: Leisu Sports "Social Sports Inventory National Derby Dispute Penalty"

China.com "National Derby 6 Misjudgments"

"National Derby Referee Multiple Key Judgments"

Referee tendency and background of pressure from Real Madrid: "Every Sport: Barcelona is dissatisfied with Real Madrid's pressure referee"

Rules and Terms Reference: FIFA's "Football Competition Rules" Chapter 12 (Handball and Red Card Standards), combined with event case analysis.