Girona came from behind to beat FC Barcelona 2-1 at Montilivi on Monday night in La Liga Matchday 24, with the winning goal by Fran Beltran in the 86th minute sparking a furious refereeing controversy after referee Cesar Soto Grado and VAR official David Galvez failed to penalise a clear stamp by Claudio Echeverri on Jules Kounde in the build-up to the goal. The Technical Committee of Referees later acknowledged that VAR should have intervened, describing the incident as not open to interpretation, but the result stood and Barcelona dropped two points behind leaders Real Madrid. Pau Cubarsi had headed Barcelona ahead in the 59th minute before Thomas Lemar equalised just two minutes later, and Lamine Yamal had earlier missed a penalty by striking the post in first-half stoppage time.
Barcelona dominated the first half at Montilivi with approximately 70 percent possession and created a string of clear-cut chances that should have put the match beyond doubt before the interval. Yamal was played through on goal in the 17th minute but shot straight at Paulo Gazzaniga, and Raphinha hit the woodwork as the visitors laid siege to the Girona goal. The most damaging miss came in the 45th minute when Daley Blind fouled Dani Olmo in the penalty area and Soto Grado pointed to the spot, only for Yamal's penalty to crash against the right post and bounce away. The profligacy left Barcelona vulnerable heading into the second half, having failed to convert their dominance into a single goal despite 14,043 spectators witnessing what appeared to be a routine away win in the making.
The second half produced three goals in 27 minutes and a dramatic shift in momentum. Cubarsi rose highest to power home a header from Kounde's corner delivery in the 59th minute, marking Barcelona's 100th goal across all competitions this season. The lead lasted barely 120 seconds as Vladyslav Vanat drove down the left flank and cut the ball back across the six-yard box for Lemar to tap in from close range. Girona's equaliser transformed the contest and Michel's side grew in confidence, with Vanat forcing a breathtaking point-blank save from Joan Garcia as the hosts sensed a famous victory was within reach.
The decisive and deeply controversial moment arrived in the 86th minute. As Girona broke forward, Echeverri stamped on Kounde's ankle while challenging for the ball, but Soto Grado allowed play to continue. Joel Roca collected the loose ball and fed Beltran, who fired a low right-footed shot into the bottom corner to send Montilivi into raptures. Barcelona players surrounded the referee in protest, but after a VAR check the goal stood. The controversy deepened when Echeverri himself admitted post-match that he had stepped on Kounde, stating that if the referee had given a foul he would have understood. Barcelona were further enraged by the double standard with an earlier Soto Grado decision at Vallecas in Matchday 3, when the same referee disallowed a Lewandowski goal after VAR flagged a far less forceful stamp by Kounde in the build-up, a contradiction the club considered inexplicable.
The defeat left Barcelona in crisis mode, having now lost consecutive matches following a 4-0 Copa del Rey defeat to Atletico Madrid. Hansi Flick refused to elaborate on the refereeing, telling reporters that everyone saw what happened and questioning whether the standard of officiating matched the level of the competition. Robert Lewandowski thought he had salvaged a late equaliser but was correctly flagged offside, and Joel Roca received a straight red card in the ninth minute of stoppage time for a dangerous lunge on Yamal that came far too late to alter the outcome. With Real Madrid having already beaten Real Sociedad 4-1, Barcelona now trail their rivals by two points in the title race, a gap that could have been erased had Soto Grado and his VAR team spotted what the rest of the football world saw clearly.
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