In last night’s controversial Superclásico between Real Madrid and Barcelona, referee Alejandro Hernández Hernández became the focus of intense criticism from the media and fans. The reason for this was that he dismissed two clear penalties and failed to recognize two Barcelona goals, turning the game completely upside down and fueling a wave of outrage.
Specifically, in the first half, Barcelona faced a dangerous attacking situation when Lewandowski appeared in the penalty area, and the ball touched the Real Madrid defender’s hands. However, after consulting VAR, referee Alejandro decided not to use the penalty, ruling that “the hands were in a natural position.” According to him, the defender had not intentionally acted with his hand, and his hand at the time was in a position to touch the body’s pillar, something that current FIFA law allows. This decision was immediately controversial when slow angles showed that the player’s hand had expanded beyond his body area and clearly obstructed the ball.
The second incident occurred in the second half, when Lamine Yamal had a tight phase near City, the ball crossing the goal line before being cleared by the goalkeeper. However, there was no goal-line technology used in the match, and the referee didn’t recognize the goal. Barcelona later had another controversial incident when Raphinha was fouled in the penalty area, but again, Alejandro Hernández refused to let Barça enjoy the penalty, arguing: “There aren’t enough factors to determine clear errors.”
Immediately after the match, the online community and experts simultaneously criticized referee Alejandro’s decisions. On social media, many fans said Barcelona was deprived of a blatant victory. Some former FIFA referees, like Iurralde González, also believe that at least one of the two situations should have resulted in a penalty for Barcelona.
The incident was so tense that FIFA immediately summoned Alejandro Hernández Hernández to investigate the match. According to initial information from a source close to FIFA, the organization will review the entire match tape, analyze controversial situations, and ask the referee to submit a detailed explanatory report.
Although the match results cannot be changed, this incident is reigniting the debate about the quality of refereeing in La Liga, as well as the need to implement goal-line technology in every major match. With serious influence, UEFA is likely to be involved to clarify the referee’s responsibilities in a match watched by the entire world.
