Barcelona dropped their first points of the new season as a Gerard Pique goal ensured the Girona would not take an unlikely win at the Camp Nou.
2-2 at full-time, Girona had managed to turn around a Lionel Messi opener with a brace of goals coming from the former Middlesbrough striker, Cristhian Stuani.
Although that Pique header would ensure that Barcelona remain top of the league with 13 points of a possible 15, it was an incident that occurred shortly before Stuani's first goal that had people talking.
After a consultation with VAR, the referee of tonight's game decided that Barcelona's Clement Lenglet had purposely elbowed an opponent, and issued a straight red-card despite the protestation of his teammates.
Not roundly accepted as the right call, the incident itself - even with the intervention of VAR - was a tough one to call.
Lenglet off! By VAR. But I’m not at all convinced by that, I must admit.
— Sid Lowe (@sidlowe) September 23, 2018
There’s a freeze frame that makes it look the right decision and like an assault (although, contrary to assumptions, I’m not always sure that a still photo or slow motion does show what actually happened, sometimes the opposite.)
— Sid Lowe (@sidlowe) September 23, 2018
A decision that ultimately cost Barcelona, their 1-0 lead had been reversed within 20 minutes of play.
You can watch the contentious decision below and decide whether or not the referee got this one right.
