Barcelona beat Atletico 2-1 on Saturday night
in a game which saw VAR overturn a red card for Gerard Martin at the start of the season half.Martin was initially handed his marching orders for a tackle on Thiago Almada but it was downgraded after VAR recommended that match referee Mateo Busquets Ferrer review the incident on the screen.
The audio of the conversation between the match officials has now been released and goes as follows:
“Mateo, I recommend a review so you can consider a possible reversal
of the red card you showed, please,” VAR referee Mario Melero López said.
“In my opinion, it’s an action where the Barcelona player is playing the ball normally, a normal part of the game, and then the contact with the Atlético player occurs naturally.”
The referee has a check and replies: “Okay, the Barcelona player with control of the ball plays it and then steps on it, normal dynamic. I’m going to cancel the red card and show him the yellow card, okay?”
“That’s right, agreed,” is the response.
