Corruption! Barcelona fans cry out against LaLiga treatment after blantant penalty call was missed by officials

Barcelona fans have decried the state of LaLiga’s refereeing, following the team’s 1-1 draw against Rayo Vallecano, where the Blaugrana were denied what seemed like an obvious penalty. 

Barcelona were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw against Rayo Vallecano on Saturday after a late Florian Lejeune own goal cancelled out Unai López’ opener for the home side. 

Despite Barcelona’s struggles to create chances against the Madrid side and Xavi’s ongoing inability to defeat Rayo Vallecano, one of the biggest talking points from the match was an incident involving match official José Luis Munuera Montero. 

As the match reached its closing stages, Barcelona were certain they deserved a penalty when Brazilian forward Raphinha was kicked in the calf while trying to control the ball in the Rayo Penalty area. However, neither the centre referee nor the VAR on duty acknowledged the incident. 

The incident involving Raphinha sparked outrage amongst fans, especially as Barcelona did not get a favourable result during the match. 

Fans were shocked at the lack of scrutiny by the VAR, and could not believe that what they felt was a blatant penalty was so casually overlooked. 

Others directly accused LaLiga of corruption, stating their belief that the league was engineered against the Catalans following a number of questionable calls, the Rapina incident being the latest. 

Following the 1-1 draw against Rayo Vallecano, Barcelona have now dropped to fourth on the LaLiga table below Real Madrid, Girona, and Atletico Madrid.