La Liga 2016/17: Barcelona robbed off a goal against Real Betis after shocking refereeing decision

Messi and co. would feel hard done by

What's the story? 

FC Barcelona were denied a well-fought comeback victory against Real Betis as a disallowed goal meant the Catalans lost more ground in their race to catch Real Madrid at the summit of La Liga.

The controversial incident happened in the 78th minute when Andre Gomes took a shot for Barcelona before defender Aissa Mandi cleared after the ball had crossed the line but the referee disallowed the rightfully scored goal.

This decision cost the Catalans more points as Luis Suarez scored in the 90th minute to salvage something for the away side with the game ending all square at one goal a piece. Luis Enrique's men could have gone top of the table temporarily at least if they had won this game

In case you didn't know...

Real Betis had struck the post twice before Alex Alegria opened the scoring for the hosts. Betis were playing brilliantly until the 75th minute before Barcelona came back into the game. Mandi cleared one more attempt on the line as the German Pizzella nearly scored an own goal at the Estadio Benito Villamarin. 

The heart of the matter 

This attempt was denied by the referee to deny Barcelona a goal

A lot of backlash against the La Liga board is expected after the referee's blunder. Barcelona would not have felt robbed of a certain three points, had the match officials given them a legitimate goal or if video technology was in place.

The Catalans are now on 42 points, one point behind Real Madrid who now have two games in hand over Luis Enrique's men. In the end, Barcelona will feel at least fortunate not to have lost all three points against Betis and continue their unbeaten run since their Copa Del Rey loss against Athletic Bilbao in the first week of January. 

What's next? 

La Liga's refusal to have goal-line technology will be heavily criticized today as Barcelona will feel completely victimized by the referee's incompetence to award a stonewall goal. This incident will again call for video technology to be brought in all the major leagues to help reduce the number of refereeing mistakes being made.

Sportskeeda's take 

A draw against Real Betis will increase Barcelona's frustration as their attempt to catch Real Madrid might be a far-fetched effort now. Recent events of faulty refereeing decisions must be curbed as many matches in the Premier League and La Liga have been affected by recent blunders.

Video technology is the need of the hour and the game’s governing bodies must adopt it as soon as possible