Thursday, May 25, 2023 at 11:51 PM• Martin van Mourik

Espanyol demands that the LaLiga duel with Atlético Madrid (3-3) be declared invalid. On Wednesday evening, a ghost goal by Antoine Griezmann, the 0-2, was approved by referee Mario Melero López even after viewing the video footage. According to the on-duty video referee and Melero López, the ball had crossed the goal line in its entirety, but conclusive video evidence has never been provided, Espanyol notes. Los Pericos want the duel to disappear from the books and that there will be ‘compensation’ for the ‘damage incurred’.

In the 44th minute of play, the ball ended up at 0-1 through the inside of the post at the feet of Griezmann, who shot straight at goalkeeper Fernando Pacheco from close range. The closing post seemed to turn the ball, but the referee awarded a goal: according to him, the ball had already completely crossed the line before Pacheco intervened. Melero López still went to the screen to watch the moment together with the VAR, but it was not clear from the images whether or not the ball had crossed the line: the 0-2 remained.

Is it sitting or not? ??
It cannot be seen with the naked eye, but the referee gives a goal to Atlético: 2-0! ??#ZiggoSport #LaLiga #EspanyolAtletico pic.twitter.com/n70gP7Labm

— Ziggo Sport Football (@ZS_Voetbal) May 24, 2023

Although Espanyol eventually managed to fight back to a 3-3 draw after a 0-3 deficit, a sense of anger prevails in the camp of loose Pericos. The club statement shows that people are ‘deeply displeased’ with the actions of the referee and VAR, who are accused of having awarded a ‘ghost goal’ without conclusive evidence. Espanyol’s demand is striking enough that the match be declared ‘null and void’ and that legal action must be taken to compensate for the ‘damage’ incurred. Exactly how Espanyol wants to be compensated is not stated in the press release, but given the sporting situation it would not be a surprise if three points are eventually demanded.

“An image has been used that makes it impossible to see whether the ball is over the line or not. In fact, with all the options we had with ourselves and with third parties to view the images, it becomes clear that the ball was not over the line,” the statement read. Espanyol points, among other things, to an arbitrary error that has major consequences for the club. With two rounds to go, the team of coach Luís García occupies nineteenth place in the ranking. The difference with the numbers seventeen and sixteen, Cádiz and Getafe, is three points.