Following a contentious El Clasico defeat at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, Barcelona president Joan Laporta has broken his silence, raising significant concerns over the use of VAR during the match against Real Madrid.

Laporta expressed his dissatisfaction with several disputable decisions made during the game, most notably involving a 'ghost goal' by Lamine Yamal.

He announced plans to request all relevant images and audio recordings from the Technical Committee of Referees and the Royal Spanish Football Federation to thoroughly review the incident.

"Yesterday there were several questionable moments, but above all there is one that is key and could lead to a change in the outcome of the match," Laporta stated.

"As you can imagine, I am talking about Lamine Yamal's ghost goal. As a club, we want to be sure of what happened and I would like to inform you that Barcelona will ask the Technical Committee of Referees and the Royal Spanish Football Federation to provide us with all the images and audio recordings of the incident".

In a determined statement, Laporta indicated that if the review confirms that the goal was valid and there was a mistake in the original call, Barcelona would not hesitate to take legal action and may even request the match be replayed.

"If, once we have analysed the evidence, we believe that there was an error in the assessment of the situation," Laporta continued, which is what we think happened, we will take all the appropriate action to correct the matter, not excluding any legal action that may be necessary.

"If it is confirmed that it was a legal goal, we will go further and ask for the match to be replayed, as happened in a European match due to an error by the VAR."

Laporta's criticism extends beyond this single incident. He pointed out other instances in El Clasico where he felt VAR should have intervened, highlighting a systemic issue with how video assistance is employed in matches, affecting the fairness and integrity of the competition.

"This is not a gratuitous or advantageous situation, but one that we need to carry out because of our helpless situation and because we have experienced bad decisions that have directly harmed us and others that have benefited our opponents," Laporta stated.

"When both are added together, they produce the gap in points that exists at the top of the table."

President @JoanLaportaFCB: "Tools like VAR have to help in achieving a fairer competition, and not otherwise." pic.twitter.com/43sOsSGWwz

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) April 22, 2024

Laporta a long-standing critic of VAR

The Barcelona president has long been critical of VAR technology, arguing that while it should minimize errors, it instead often leads to confusion and inconsistent rulings across different games and teams.

The potential legal action and call for a replay are indicative of the broader implications such decisions have on league standings and team morale.

Laporta emphasized the need to address these "erroneous decisions" that not only disadvantage Barcelona but also skew the competitive balance of the league.

Así fue la actuación del VAR en #ELCLÁSICO. pic.twitter.com/SPkkAND5So

— LALIGA (@LaLiga) April 22, 2024

"Not only do I want to express the dissatisfaction of the Barcelona supporters with yesterday's mismanagement of VAR, but I also want to emphasise that it continues to cause confusion and contradictory judgements depending on the matches and teams," Laporta said.

"As president of Barcelona, I would like to stress the power of our competition, which is followed by millions of fans, and we cannot remain on the sidelines when the use of VAR undervalues the competition. VAR should help to make the competition fairer and not the other way around."

As this situation develops, it underscores the ongoing debates surrounding VAR technology in football - its application, effectiveness, and the significant impact it has on the outcomes of high-stakes matches like El Clasico.