The game between Real Madrid and Barcelona may not have been decided by that controversial penalty against Sergio Ramos, but according to Barcelona's coach Ronald Koeman, it surely had quite an influence in the outcome of the game.
Speaking in the post-match press conference, Koeman blamed VAR for his team's recent misfortunes, specificall stating how refs seem to think twice before making a call that could favor Los Culés.
"I asked the ref to explain to me how VAR works in Spain. We've played five games so far, and VAR has only been used against us, never in our favor. They did not use it when Messi was fouled inside the box against Sevilla, or during the game against Getafe. I asked him why it always had to be used against Barcelona," Koeman stated.
The Dutch boss was quite adamant when he made his ruling on the controversial call.
"You think it was a penalty? Let me disagree. I don't believe that should have been awarded. It had a huge influence in the game, we did not deserve to lose the way we did," Koeman added.
Before discussing another topic, Koeman admitted he had not spoken to Clement Lenglet about the moments that preceeded the penalty call.
"I have not talked to him, but I saw that Ramos pushed him before Clement pulled his shirt. Yes, he pulled his shirt, but you can't award a penalty like that. If he was pulled in such a way, he should have fallen on the other direction," Koeman said.
Before the presser concluded, Koeman tried to explain why he took so much time to make substitutions.
"We tried to improve and create chances with the players we had on the pitch. Then, we tried to use Dembelé and Trincao's speed on the flanks to have better chances when we were one-on-one. We know it was risky, but I did not mind losing 2-1 or 3-1," Koeman concluded.
