Barcelona 2-3 Atletico Madrid: 5 Talking Points | 2019-20 Spanish Super Cup 

#2 VAR agony for Barcelona

Barcelona had two goals disallowed by VAR

While VAR might have been introduced to the game to eliminate errors, the technology is still not without its flaws and has generated its own fair share of controversies.

Despite being in use for the best part of the last three years, it still has its detractors and there are many who believe it has done more harm than good to the game.

While this might be a tad harsh to VAR, the fact that the technology is still subject to the interpretation of humans means that the element of errors can never be fully eliminated.

Opinionated decisions like handballs and penalty calls would understandably always generate debates but it is for factual decisions like offsides that VAR is expected to get right.

However, despite clear-cut rules for players being offside, the decisions still cause controversies all around and Barcelona were first-hand witnesses of this against Atletico Madrid.

Another goal disallowed by the VAR! By a hair! 🤦‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/GX3hQJd4W6

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) January 9, 2020

Skipper Lionel Messi thought he had his second of the night after dribbling across the Atletico backline before netting with a fine finish but the goal was rightly ruled out for handball by the 32-year-old in the buildup.

They had another goal disallowed soon after, although this was less clear, as Gerard Pique was adjudged to have been offside by the tiniest of margins.

Atletico Madrid were also aggrieved not to have gotten a penalty decision for a Pique handball and despite their victory, VAR was the cause of yet more drama in faraway Saudi Arabia.