Borussia Dortmund 0-0 Barcelona: 3 talking points after Barcelona played goal-less draw against Borussia Dortmund

#2 VAR at fault once again

Ever since video assistant referee has been introduced in the game, it has always been around controversies. This time it once again comes under question, after Borussia Dortmund were denied penalty retake.

Barcelona conceded a penalty after Nelson Semedo fouled Jadon Sancho inside the penalty area. Therefore, Marco Reus stepped up to take the penalty against Marc Andre Ter Stegen.

The German midfielder shot the ball, which was spectacularly stopped by Ter Stegen, and even the follow-through was thwarted by the German goalkeeper.

However, in a replay it was shown that Ter Stegen made an error, as according to the new rules, a goalkeeper cannot step outside the goal-line before the penalty taker kicks the ball, but Stegen was clearly spotted stepping out of the line. Hence, it should have been re-taken.

The main referee missed this violation by Stegen but this was under the jurisdiction of VAR, and it should have stopped the play. But, it did not make an action, hence questioning the efficiency of VAR, which eventually helped Barcelona.

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

Read More