The Spanish Referee's Committee confirmed that VAR should have disallowed Girona's winning goal against Barcelona last week, acknowledging a missed foul on Jules Koundé in the build-up. Fran Beltrán's 86th-minute strike secured a 2-1 victory for Girona at Montilivi on Feb. 16, but replays showed Claudio Echeverri stepping on Koundé's foot before the goal.

According to the RFEF and CTA, the incident constituted a clear and obvious error that VAR should have intervened to correct. The committee stated that Echeverri's studs-on-foot challenge removed Koundé from the defensive action, warranting both a foul call and a yellow card. This admission came after Barcelona had already sent a formal complaint to the RFEF regarding multiple refereeing inconsistencies, including a controversial seven-minute VAR review that disallowed Pau Cubarsí's goal in their Copa del Rey semifinal loss to Atlético Madrid.

Despite the controversy, Barcelona manager Hansi Flick refused to use the missed call as an excuse, noting his team's poor performance. The defeat saw Barcelona surrender first place to Real Madrid, though they reclaimed the top spot after beating Levante 3-0 following Madrid's 2-1 loss at Osasuna. With 13 games remaining, Barcelona sit one point ahead of Madrid at 61 points, setting up a potentially title-deciding Clásico at Camp Nou in early May.