Referee Diaz de Mera Escuderos rated 4.75 after disputed Raphinha penalty call

Barcelona maintained their perfect start to the La Liga season with a convincing 5-0 victory away to Valencia in the fourth round, but the performance of referee Diaz de Mera Escuderos has come under scrutiny after a disputed decision involving Raphinha.

Lamine Yamal scored twice, while Fermin Lopez, Raphinha and Pedri were also on target as Barcelona extended their winning run. However, specialist refereeing website Archivo VAR gave Diaz de Mera Escuderos a rating of just 4.75 out of 10 for his handling of the match.

Archivo VAR said the referee made a positive start before his performance gradually declined. The official was repeatedly required to deal with incidents that fell close to the threshold between legal challenges and fouls.

Diaz de Mera Escuderos initially attempted to avoid intervening too frequently, and the nature of the match allowed him to do so. That changed when Barcelona increased the tempo, forcing the referee to move more actively towards both penalty areas.

According to Archivo VAR, the two most controversial incidents of the game occurred in those areas.

The first came during the opening half after Rodri lost possession close to the edge of the penalty area. Danjuma then found himself through on goal against Barcelona goalkeeper Joan Garcia and managed to get a shot away, although his effort was made more difficult by pressure from Rodri behind him.

Archivo VAR described the incident as one that sat on the borderline. The website said the Barcelona player made slight contact by holding the attacker’s shoulder, but that the challenge was not sufficiently clear-cut to make it an obvious foul.

Such incidents, it added, are generally more dependent on the judgement of the referee on the field than on intervention from the video assistant referee.

The second incident involved Raphinha and Valencia defender Maffeo inside the penalty area. Maffeo made slight contact with the ball before bringing down Raphinha, who had controlled possession and appeared able to continue the move had he not been knocked over.

Archivo VAR argued that the incident should have led to a penalty and that it was an occasion that warranted VAR intervention.

“This is one of the incidents that shows touching the ball does not exempt players from committing a foul. It is a penalty. Although Maffeo touched the ball, his challenge prevented the Brazilian player from continuing the action,” Archivo VAR said.

The website also shared video of the incident, accompanied by the verdict: “VAR allowed a penalty to go unpunished in Valencia – Barcelona. Maffeo slightly touches the ball and then brings down Raphinha, who had controlled it. It is a penalty.”

Despite the controversy, Barcelona completed a five-goal victory and preserved their 100% record in the league after four matches.