Another refereeing scandal

Last night I watched the soccer match between Betis and Barcelona on TV.  While the soccer level in Spain is quite high, unfortunately the same cannot be said about the refereeing.  I have watched soccer for many years, since my youth in Norway, and frankly I have never seen so many wrong calls as I have here in Spain.  Pérez Lasa, seen in the photo, was the referee.  He is basque, and known for handing out a lot of cards.  Last night he handed out six yellow cards, and one red, which is pretty much his average.


He started off by calling a penalty against Betis' Rivas, after only 8 minutes and 33 minutes of play.  Since Larsson fell within the penalty box it would appear to be a correct call. At any rate, Eto'o took the penalty, and his shot hit the left post, and went out.


At 19:03 van Bommel scored a legitimate goal, on a hard shot.  Shortly thereafter the controversy and disastrous call took place.  After having run down the left wing against Belleti, and clearly been pushed down to the ground by him, as shown on replays, Oliveira was handed a yellow card, for taking a deliberate dive, at 21:27, which was not the case at all.  Understandably, Oliveira was not happy with this call, and showed his disapproval by making an applauding gesture, which resulted in Lasa giving him a red card, ejecting him from the game at 21:39.


Despite playing with one player less Betis did not give up, and gave Barcelona a run for the game.  Their effort was rewarded when Juanito headed in the equalizer at 37:16.


However, after the intermission it soon became evident that Betis had spent their energy, being short one player.  Eto'o scored at 57:35, and again at 76:21.  Ezquerro finished off the scoring at 88:21, making it 1-4, in favour of Barcelona.


It is a shame that referees, like Lasa, destroy an otherwise close and interesting game. Betis has played exceptionally well against Barcelona the last few times they have met, but every time they have had poor calls against them, and the worst were definitely made in the game last night.  Not only should not Oliveira been carded and ejected, but Joaquin should also have had a freekick just outside the penalty area, after also having been brought down, but no call was made.


A review process of the referees performances should definitely be instituted, but it is unlikely that it will. It is a great shame, because this shoddy refereeing detracts from the games, as clearly shown in this game, which was important not only to Betis, but the outcome of the division as a whole.

Malaga surprised me by winning 1-4 against Mallorca today, while Ronaldo scored twice, and Guti once (just before the end of the game) against Alavés, which finds itself at the bottom of the division.  


With this win Malaga actually moved ahead of Betis, which is a much better team.  Getafe won 0-1 against Atlético, which again came up with a lacklustre effort.  Depending on the outcome between Celta, which is playing at home (with the game starting at 21:00), and Sevilla, Getafe will be in first or second place, as Deportivo only tied Zaragoza at Zaragoza. Real Madrid and Barcelona both made a major climb, after their respective victories, with Madrid remaining one point ahead.