After 100 days: has Barcelona absolved the World Cup referee of the injustice against Egypt in the match with Argentina?

Controversial incident

Ricardo de Burgos, the referee of the Barcelona and Real Betis match in La Liga, sparked controversy following his refereeing decisions throughout the game.

Barcelona travelled to face Real Betis on Saturday at the Benito Villamarin stadium, in the ninth round of La Liga fixtures.

On 43 minutes, Argentine midfielder Giovani Lo Celso lashed in Real Betis' second from outside the penalty area, a rocket that Joan Garcia couldn't keep out.

De Burgos went to the monitor and chalked it off. His reasoning: the ball had struck the hand of a Real Betis player in midfield before it ever reached Lo Celso.

Betis players surrounded the referee, with Chilean coach Manuel Pellegrini furious. The handball had happened in midfield, long before the ball arrived at Lo Celso's feet and ended up in the net.

Egypt fans will recognise the feeling. Their round-of-16 tie with Argentina at the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico produced an almost identical flashpoint, in a game Argentina edged 3-2.

Played around 100 days ago, on 7 July, that match had Egypt a goal to the good before Mostafa Zico tucked away a second from a Mohamed Salah assist.

French referee Francois Letexier checked the video technology and ruled it out, pointing to a foul at the start of the move on Egypt midfielder Marwan Attia.

Egypt's players and coach Hossam Hassan were incensed. Their argument: the foul came at the very beginning of the move, so the referee had no business going back to it once the goal had been scored.

The "Archivo VAR" platform has now settled that debate, in its refereeing analysis of Real Betis' disallowed goal against Barcelona.

As long as possession has not changed hands, the platform confirmed, the attack remains the same phase. That means it can be reviewed and the goal wiped out if there was a foul at its start.