Málaga–Racing: A Penalty, Two Players Off the Pitch and a VAR Reversal

TVS News AI, editorially supervised, presents Málaga–Racing: A Penalty, Two Players Off the Pitch and a VAR Reversal.

It was the 85th minute when Díaz de Mera pointed to the penalty spot at La Rosaleda. The referee believed that Iker Luque of Racing de Santander had fouled José Salinas of Málaga. But the whistle was not yet the final decision.

The assistant informed the referee that Salinas had come through in an offside position. After speaking with the VAR, Díaz de Mera withdrew his decision. No penalty was taken.

The Withdrawn Whistle Began With a Foul

What the referee first saw

The disputed situation began with a foul by Luque on Salinas. Díaz de Mera initially signalled a penalty for Málaga. The Spaniard reacted, as Marca reported, bringing a stoppage to the 12th matchday of LaLiga EA Sports.

Why the assistant intervened

The linesman, however, interpreted the spatial situation differently. He pointed out to Díaz de Mera that the Málaga player had previously come through in an offside position. The referee then spoke with the video assistant. The VAR confirmed the offside position, prompting Díaz de Mera to withdraw his initial whistle.

The decisive sequence can therefore be summarised in three steps: Luque fouls Salinas, the assistant reports the offside, and the referee corrects his decision after consulting the VAR. The source assesses the decision as correct, while also noting that the scene appeared unusual because of the positions of the two players.

Both Players Were Outside the Pitch

The unusual angle of view

In the subsequent analysis, Joaquín played the ball over the pitch to Salinas. Both Salinas and Luque were outside the pitch at the time. The special aspect was not merely that two players had left the playing area. Their positions relative to each other were decisive: when the pass was played, Salinas had only Luque behind him.

The source explains the basic principle: A player outside the pitch is normally in an offside position because two opponents must be behind him for the offside to be negated. In this particular scene, there was only one. Salinas was therefore offside when he received Joaquín’s pass.

The offside position persisted on the next challenge

Salinas subsequently took the ball from Luque. The offside position applied not only to the original pass but remained relevant for the following challenge. Only then did Luque go to ground in a duel with Salinas, initially leading to the penalty whistle. Because Salinas had already come into possession from an offside position, however, the VAR confirmed the correction.

This explains the seemingly contradictory sequence: Outside the pitch does not automatically mean offside in this case. It initially means only that the spatial requirement for an offside position has been met. What is decisive is how many players are behind the player in possession of the ball.

“He visto que el defensa derriba”: Díaz de Mera Explains the Reversal

The statement after the match

Díaz de Mera subsequently explained his decision on the Movistar LaLiga microphones. Translated, he said: “I saw that the defender went to ground, and the assistant told me that he came through in an offside position. We spoke with the VAR, who confirmed the offside decision, and that is how we decided.”

This explanation in particular makes clear that the assistant triggered the process. Díaz de Mera had initially reacted to the foul but adopted the information about the offside position after the video assistant had confirmed it. In this case, the VAR did not merely make an overlooked video decisive. It confirmed the correction based on the linesman’s indication.

The Photo Gallery Shows the Course of the Match at La Rosaleda

More than the controversial scene

Mundo Deportivo’s photo gallery documents the match at the Estadio de La Rosaleda with numerous moments from the game. Among those shown are Carlos Doctor after scoring, Racing’s team celebrating and Yassir Zabiri after his goal for the visitors. The images also show coach Ramón Enríquez, players Iker Luque and José Salinas, and other duelling moments.

Before kick-off, a minute of silence was held for former Málaga player Jesús de Miguel. According to the photo caption, Racing staged a comeback against Málaga. However, the supplied source texts do not state a final score.

The documented core remains clear for the context of the penalty scene: In the 85th minute, a penalty was initially awarded to Málaga. Following the assistant’s indication and the VAR’s confirmation, Díaz de Mera withdrew the decision because Salinas had come through in an offside position—even though he and Luque were both outside the pitch at that moment.