The decision not to allow Kylian Mbappé’s missed penalty in Real Madrid‘s 1-0 defeat at Real Betis to be retaken was correct, the body in charge of Spain’s referees said on Tuesday.
Mbappé saw his 94th minute spot kick saved by goalkeeper Álvaro Valles in Friday’s LaLiga game, as Madrid slipped to their first defeat under new coach José Mourinho.
Mourinho had claimed that Mbappé should have been given another opportunity, alleging that Betis defender Marc Bartra had encroached in the box as the penalty was taken, before clearing the ball ahead of Mbappé.
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“It wasn’t retaken because the VAR doesn’t know the rules, or because the VAR didn’t want it [to be retaken],” Mourinho said on Monday. “That’s the question that I’d like those responsible to answer. Why didn’t the VAR let the penalty be retaken? If it’s because he doesn’t know the rules, he should go home and not be a VAR. If he didn’t want to, it’s even worse.”
However in its weekly review of refereeing decisions, the Referees’ Technical Committee (CTA) backed the decision of on-field referee Alejandro Hernández and video assistant referee Javier Iglesias not to retake the spot kick.
Footage of the incident showed Bartra moving into the penalty area as Mbappé shot, but the CTA said that under International Football Association Board (IFAB) rules, the decision revolved around whether the defender was considered “airborne” and thus if his body position could be projected as if his feet were touching the floor.
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IFAB guidance has said that “airborne only applies when the whole of the body is off the ground.”
“At the moment the ball is struck, Bartra has one foot in the air and the other touching the ground,” the CTA said on Tuesday. “Bartra isn’t in the air, because he has one foot touching the ground. His foot hasn’t touched the penalty area, and it isn’t touching the semicircle either. Bartra has committed no infraction.
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“The penalty should not have been retaken. Correct [decision] from the referee and the VAR.”
The loss, combined with Barcelona‘s win over Valencia on Sunday, leaves Madrid in third place in LaLiga, one point behind second-place Alaves and three behind Hansi Flick‘s defending champions.
