Archivo VAR says Valencia deserved a penalty and Rodri should have been sent off

Barcelona’s 5-0 victory at Mestalla appeared comprehensive, but the scoreline did not remove every uncomfortable detail from the match. Archivo VAR has published a new angle of Rodri’s challenge on Arnaut Danjuma and concluded that Valencia should have received a penalty, with the Barcelona midfielder also shown a red card.

Five goals make controversy easier to ignore. The incident, however, occurred with Barcelona leading 2-0 and almost an hour still to play.

A NEW ANGLE CHANGES THE PICTURE

In the 32nd minute, Rodri lost possession near his own penalty area and Danjuma moved into a scoring position. The Spain midfielder recovered to challenge him from behind, contact followed and Joan García saved the Valencia forward’s eventual effort.

Referee Isidro Díaz de Mera allowed play to continue, while VAR Alejandro Muñiz Ruiz did not recommend an on-field review. The broadcast replays made it difficult to determine how much Rodri had affected Danjuma before the shot.

Archivo VAR later released another angle. Its analysis was unequivocal: Rodri made contact with the forward before he could complete his attempt and the incident should have resulted in a penalty and a dismissal.

THE INCIDENT CAME AT 2-0

Under Archivo VAR’s interpretation, this was not simply a missed penalty. Danjuma was facing goal with a clear opportunity to score, while Rodri’s intervention was not an attempt to play the ball. That is why the analysis also called for a red card for denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity.

Rodri stayed on the pitch, received a yellow card in the 47th minute and was replaced by Marc Bernal after 62 minutes.

None of this proves that Valencia would have completed a comeback. Carlos Corberán’s side were passive for long periods and Barcelona were comfortably the better team. A penalty at 2-0 and nearly an hour against ten players would nevertheless have created a very different match.

REFEREEING OPINIONS ARE DIVIDED

Archivo VAR’s verdict is an independent analysis, not an official admission of error from Spain’s refereeing authorities. Former referee Iturralde González reached a different conclusion when discussing the incident on Cadena SER.

Iturralde described it as more of a physical contest, arguing that Rodri used his body from behind but did not commit a clear penalty offence.

The disagreement is important. It means the incident cannot honestly be presented as an officially confirmed mistake. It also shows the familiar weakness of the VAR conversation in Spain: another camera becomes available, and what previously looked acceptable suddenly produces two incompatible interpretations.

FIVE GOALS DO NOT ERASE THE QUESTION

Barcelona deserved their victory. Lamine Yamal scored twice, with Fermín López, Raphinha and Pedri also finding the net. The visitors controlled possession, created far more chances and punished a Valencia team offering little resistance.

Dominance does not automatically validate every refereeing decision. Rodri’s challenge happened while the contest was still alive, before Barcelona added three more goals in the second half.

VAR later spent time confirming Lamine Yamal’s position before the fifth goal. It did not send Díaz de Mera to the monitor for an incident that, according to Archivo VAR, should have reduced Barcelona to ten men and given Valencia a penalty. The scoreboard says 5-0. The refereeing debate is considerably less tidy.