GERARD PIQUE was caught cheekily mocking VAR with a controversial gesture after Lionel Messi’s disallowed goal against Villarreal.
This comes after bitter rivals Real Madrid were awarded a penalty by VAR over Athletic Bilbao to steer them four points clear of Barca in the race for the title.
Gerard Pique made a controversial VAR gesture after Messi’s goal was disallowed
Real look on the verge of securing the La Liga title after Sergio Ramos scored his tenth goal of the campaign when he found the net from the spot in the second half.
Barca responded in style at Villarreal thanks to an Antoine Griezmann brace, while Luis Suarez and Ansu Fati were also on target.
But golden boy Messi was denied a chance to get on the scoresheet in the second-half after a VAR review – and Pique seemed to poke fun at the controversial call.
The Spaniard appeared to type on an imaginary keyboard and mocked the hand signal for VAR.
After the final whistle the 33-year-old claimed he did not remember doing it but was said to have flashed a cheeky smile when discussing the matter.
As reported by Marca, he said: “I don’t remember,
“During the game, you do things with the adrenaline… I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Los Blancos had been awarded their penalty after Marcelo was judged by VAR to have been mowed down by Dani Garcia.
As reported by Sport, Garcia hit back at the decision, and said: “I saw I had the situation under control and, through bad luck, I stepped on him. At no moment was it possible that he would get the ball before me. If you give one, you give the other.
“VAR is ruining football.”
Bilbao captain Iker Muniain also waded in and hinted that some clubs get preferential treatment from the technology.
He said: “Raul Garcia’s been stamped on and they haven’t even revised it, that’s the difference,
“We’ve seen the theme in these weeks since the restart, depending on which teams it is, some decisions are given. Everyone can draw their own conclusions.”
VAR has been a hot topic in Spain since the restart of La Liga, – particularly in the Catalan camp as Barca’s two-point lead in the table has been wiped out by Real following the shutdown of football.
Nou Camp chief Josep Maria Bartomeu suggested on Sunday that the system is stacked in favour of their big rivals.
After Barca’s victory over Villarreal he said: “I watched San Mames match until almost the end of the second half.
“I feel bad because we have the best league in the world and VAR after coronavirus isn’t fair.
“It has changed some results and always favours the same team.”
While an ex-La Liga referee shockingly claimed that 90 per cent of Spanish top-flight referees are “fans” of Zinedine Zidane’s side.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
