German coach left in the dark as semi-automated offside technology fails during 4-0 Copa del Rey thrashing
Hansi Flick sat at the press conference table, drew a slow, deliberate line in the air with his finger, and let the silence hang.
Seven minutes. Eight. His team had waited an eternity for a decision that never came in their favour. And no one thought to tell him why.
“This is so bad here,” Flick said, his voice carrying equal parts disbelief and exhaustion. “They have to wait seven minutes? Oh, come on. When I see this situation, it was clear — no offside. Maybe they could see something different. Then tell us! There was no communication.”
By the time Pau CubarsÃ’s disallowed goal was finally ruled out, the damage was already done. Barcelona were trailing 4-0. Their Copa del Rey defence was in tatters. And the technology designed to prevent precisely this kind of chaos had simply stopped working.
Spain’s refereeing committee later confirmed that the semi-automated offside system suffered a “failure in the modelling of players” due to the “high density” of bodies inside the Atlético penalty area. Too many footballers in one place. The machines couldn’t cope.
VAR officials tried to recalibrate. Then tried again. Eventually, they admitted it was “not possible” to recover the functionality and resorted to manually drawn lines — the old method, the slow method, the one that leaves everyone guessing.
Flick wasn’t guessing. He was certain.
His frustration was shared by Frenkie de Jong, who went further than his coach in the mixed zone. “If the image I saw isn’t AI,” the Dutch midfielder said, “it’s a scandal. Because it’s very clear.”
The image he was referring to — the one circulating on social media, the one Barcelona supporters pointed to as proof — showed Robert Lewandowski in an onside position at the moment FermÃn López played the ball. The officials saw something different. Or rather, their malfunctioning technology saw something different.
Either way, no one told Flick until it was too late.
“We have no communication,” he repeated. “It’s so bad here.”
The second leg awaits on March 3. By then, the technology will presumably be fixed. The explanations will have been issued. The manual line-drawing will be a footnote in a dispiriting night for the Catalan giants.
But Flick’s words will linger. Seven minutes of silence. A raised finger drawing invisible lines. A coach left in the dark, waiting for machines that failed him.
It’s so bad here.
Similar Posts:
- Referee’s comment to Hansi Flick about a controversial offside call has fueled debate over Barcelona’s narrow loss to Real Sociedad.
- Unbeaten Barcelona Face Ultimate Test in Copa Clash Against Desperate Atletico
- Flick Baffled by Red Card: “I Didn’t Do Anything Against Anyone”
- Simeone Mocks Yamal as Atletico Put Barca to the Sword
- Hansi Flick Reveals Summer Transfer Plans Amid Marcus Rashford Links
