Scandal in Spain: the referee blows the whistle and everyone stops, but the goal in Mallorca-Granada is valid

If in the Superiore there has been no shortage of refereeing controversies after the first week of the championship, things have not gone well in Spain either. One situation in particular has caused a lot of discussion, fueling a real controversy that seems to be going to last a long time. The match between Granada and Mallorca has experienced tense moments on the occasion of the second goal of the home team. Under the microscope of criticism was the behavior of the referee Saul Ais, who in the case of a corner kick whistled for the restart of the game at the moment when the white and red team had already put the ball in play. Chaos on the field and an own goal amid endless controversies, while VAR did not intervene despite the obvious delay.

Granada-Mallorca referee blows the whistle, but it's too late: controversy in Spain

A game action like many others, with a substitution and a corner kick for Granada. The referee was advising the players in the area, warning them of the usual penalties in the event of contact on the edge of the regulation, when the white and red team executed the kick. It is clearly heard that the whistle that should have given the signal for the restart of the game comes after the ball has been kicked, with the sphere already in the air. The friendly players, confused by what happened, stopped thinking that Ais had penalized a contact and the ball was inadvertently deflected into his own goal by Arnau Puigmal. Instead of repeating the action, the referee, to the surprise of the friendly team, awarded the goal.

Fierce protests from Mallorca

Strong protests from the Mallorca players about a mistake that seemed colossal from the start. Nothing changed, as the result stood, even with the additional punishment of two players with yellow cards, Alex Sala and Manu Morlanes, as well as a red card for a member of the technical staff. Even after the final whistle, the protests did not calm down: the referee was accused of creating confusion with the delayed whistle, without then taking a step back, admitting the mistake. He did not even realize that the players were not really ready, as he was still dealing with the usual reprimands.

Why didn't VAR intervene?

But why didn't VAR intervene? These types of situations are not, according to the regulations, among those that can be reviewed. In fact, they do not include either the assessment of the exact moment when the referee blows the whistle to authorize the restart of play, or the moment of execution of a corner kick in relation to the referee's whistle. At the moment when the referee on the field awards the goal, VAR remains silent according to the current protocol.

The Mallorca coach, very disappointed after the match, expressed himself in a very civil way: "It's somewhat inexplicable, especially with the technology we have, the VAR, the fourth referee and the two assistants. It's a very clear situation. When the whole team stands up to protest... They blow the whistle after a substitution and you don't even look. When they blow the whistle, the ball is in play and the players think they've blown a foul or something like that. We're all human, the referee has his own personality, but today I think it wasn't the right decision."