Strong criticism from Mateu Lahoz to Hernández Hernández: "it is impossible to sanction Balde's handball"

The refereeing decisions in the match between FC Barcelona and Levante UD for the second matchday of LaLiga EA Sports, once again, harmed the Azulgrana team. 

And it was evident when referee Alejandro Hernández Hernández decided to award a penalty to the 'granota' team in the added time of the first half.

In itself, the action took place in the fifth minute of added time, when José Luis Morales sent a shot towards Joan García's goal, which ended up being blocked by Alejandro Balde with his left arm.

Although the ball hit the '3' of the Catalan team, the arm was clearly close to the body, so the action is involuntary and not punishable. But the Spanish refereeing doesn't understand that when it comes to Barça. 

Strong Mateu Lahoz: directly points out an error by Alejandro Hernández 

In this vein, former referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz also considered that this penalty should not have been awarded, highlighting the error of the VAR and the main referee of the match.

"He takes out his arm. His hand is quite detached. This hand is punishable, he can't retract it any further," he pointed out in 'Tiempo de Juego' on Cadena Cope, where he serves as an arbitration analyst.

It should be remembered that the main referee received a call from the VAR room by Jorge Figueroa Vázquez to come and review the play on the monitor.

Thus, the penalty ended up being executed by the '11' of the 'levantinista' team to go into halftime with a 2-0 lead. Despite this, the Blaugrana team was able to turn the score around in the second half, winning by 2-3 and consolidating their position at the top of the competition with 6 points.

The last Real Madrid-Barça match, a precedent by Alejandro Hernández

In this vein, Alejandro Hernández was also in charge of refereeing the second Clásico of LaLiga 2024/25, which ended in favor of Barça 4-3, but where a similar action by Aurélien Tchouameni after a shot by Ferran Torres was not sanctioned as a penalty.

In that match, which was played on May 11, the referee also received a call from the VAR, but decided that it was not punishable, which shows how Spanish refereeing tends to tip the balance when it comes to the Catalan team and the 'Casa Blanca'.

Therefore, Mateu Lahoz also recalled that controversial play and implied that the same criteria should be maintained, something that Hernández clearly did not do on this occasion.

"The last precedent we have of this referee going to the monitor was a handball by Tchouaméni in the Clásico. If at that moment he decided that it was not a penalty, it is impossible for him to decree a handball in this play," Lahoz commented.