Frenkie de Jong was left furious after a hugely controversial VAR decision took more than eight minutes to reach during Barcelona’s heavy defeat to Atletico Madrid.
The Dutch midfielder made his feelings clear on the pitch as officials carried out a lengthy offside review, with the delay becoming one of the main talking points of the match.
Barcelona believed they had a key moment in their favour, only for the goal to be ruled out after an unusually long check. De Jong and several team-mates reacted angrily as the decision finally came through, with the call later described as “scandalous”.
Atletico Madrid went on to take full control and complete a drubbing of Barca, with the visitors unable to recover after the momentum swung away from them.
The incident has again put the spotlight on VAR and the time taken to reach decisions, particularly in big games where single calls can shift a match in an instant.
De Jong’s frustration was clear as Barcelona left Madrid empty-handed, with the offside call and the eight-minute wait adding to the sense of a night that went badly wrong for Xavi’s side.
