Lewandowski was tackled to the ground inside the penalty area.

In Spain, during the 1-1 draw against Rayo Vallecano in La Liga's 14th round, striker Robert Lewandowski was fouled by Florian Lejeune inside the penalty area, but Barca were not awarded a penalty.

In an off-ball challenge inside the penalty area, Lejeune unexpectedly wrapped his arm around Lewandowski's neck and brought him down. The Polish striker didn't feign injury, but immediately turned around demanding a penalty and seemed surprised that the referee hadn't seen the incident.

According to the Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo , the referees and assistant referees on the field had difficulty seeing the incident because the ball was in another area of the pitch. Therefore, the fault lies with the VAR team for failing to detect the collision and awarding Barca a clear penalty.

The incident shows Lejeune tackling Lewandowski inside the penalty area during Barcelona's 1-1 draw against Rayo Vallecano in La Liga's 14th round on November 25th. (Screenshot) — The incident shows Lejeune tackling Lewandowski inside the penalty area during Barcelona's 1-1 draw against Rayo Vallecano in La Liga's 14th round on November 25th. *(Screenshot)*

Lewandowski rarely complains about referees after matches, but he liked a post on social media showing a video of Lejeune's foul. The 35-year-old striker did not comment on or repost the article on his personal page. According to Mundo Deportivo , this was Lewandowski's way of protesting the referee's decision while avoiding punishment.

At the post-match press conference, coach Xavi criticized the referees for another incident in the second half, claiming that Raphinha was fouled in the penalty area. "Many people criticize me for always making excuses, but the foul on Raphinha clearly deserved a penalty," the Spanish coach emphasized. "That happened to us at Getafe, Granada, and today. We lost the win because we didn't play well in the first half. This is not an excuse, but Barca deserved a penalty in that situation."

The incident involved Raphinha being fouled by Rayo defender Alfonso Espino inside the penalty area late in the match, but the referee did not award Barca a penalty. Photo: Mundo Deportivo — The incident involved Raphinha being fouled by Rayo defender Alfonso Espino inside the penalty area late in the match, but the referee did not award Barca a penalty. Photo: *Mundo Deportivo*

Mundo Deportivo points out that Barca could lose seven points in La Liga this season due to VAR errors in four matches, including the game against Vallecano last weekend.

First, the Catalan club was denied a penalty when Ronald Araujo was fouled in the penalty area in the opening match, a 0-0 draw against Getafe. Xavi heavily criticized referee Cesar Soto Grado in the post-match press conference.

In the 2-2 draw against Granada in round 9, Joao Felix scored with a header in the third minute of added time. On the sidelines, Xavi hugged his assistant and celebrated wildly. VAR intervened and determined that Felix was not offside, but Ferran Torres was behind the Granada defense and involved in the play, so the goal was disallowed. Mundo Deportivo argued that this was a wrong decision as Torres was not involved in the play.

In Real Madrid's 1-2 defeat in round 11, during a corner kick in injury time of the first half, Araujo appeared to be pulled down by Aurelien Tchouameni and was unable to jump and head the ball. However, neither the main referee nor the VAR team blew the whistle for a foul.

The draw against Vallecano saw Barca drop to fourth place with 31 points, level with Atletico, three points behind Girona, and four points behind Real. This is also not good preparation for Xavi's team ahead of their next two crucial matches – against Porto in the fifth round of Group H of the Champions League on November 29th, and then against Atletico Madrid in the 15th round of La Liga on December 4th.

Hong Duy

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