"Disappointing referee and costly mistakes": did Barcelona deserve a penalty against Bilbao?

Poor rating for the match referee

Barcelona's players surrounded the referee demanding a penalty after new signing Anthony Gordon went down inside the box against Athletic Bilbao.

The "Archivo VAR" account, which specialises in analysing refereeing incidents, ruled that Barcelona deserved nothing from the passage of play. Waving play on was the right call.

According to a post on X, Gordon first slipped the ball to teammate Raphinha before Athletic Bilbao defender Hugo Rincón challenged him. That challenge was neither reckless nor a foul.

The English forward had already released the ball before any contact came, the account added, and under the laws of the game that falls well short of a penalty.

"Archivo VAR" didn't stop there. Writing on its official website, it handed referee Ortiz Arias a lowly 4 out of 10, branding his handling of the match a disappointment littered with costly errors.

He misapplied the advantage rule after two simultaneous fouls, the account explained, and waved away a clear caution that Xavi Espart deserved. Nor did he book Lamine Yamal for a tackle it described as bordering on a red card. He got some calls right too, including the refusal to award Barcelona that penalty in the Gordon incident.

All of this unfolded as Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao opened their La Liga campaigns, with the Catalans winning 2-0 at their own stadium. Raphinha struck in the 37th minute and Fermín López added a second in the 81st, handing Hansi Flick's side their first three points of the season.

Rodri made his Barcelona debut off the bench in the second half. The hosts attacked relentlessly and carved out chance after chance, only for Unai Simón's brilliance to keep the score down.