A refereeing incident in the first half of Paris Saint-Germain's UEFA Champions League match against Barcelona drew protests after Fermín López was not punished. Barcelona were in Paris for the third round of the league phase, and in the 40th minute they were trailing to Désiré Doué's goal.
How the incident unfolded
Pedri played a pass through to send Fermín López one-on-one with Paris goalkeeper Safonov. López tried to dink the ball over Safonov, Safonov blocked it, and the loose ball dropped between López and Paris defender Pacho.
As López and Pacho challenged for the loose ball, Fermín caught Pacho in the face with his boot while trying to play the ball, with Pacho having ducked low to meet it with his head.
Protests from Paris players
Play was halted to treat Pacho as Paris players surrounded the officials protesting that Fermín had escaped punishment.
Archivo VAR's verdict
Archivo VAR, a network that specialises in refereeing incidents, posted its analysis of the incident on X. The account posted: "Should the video technology (VAR) have intervened in the incident that occurred between Pacho and Fermín?"
It added: "The answer is no. The defender is the one who lowered his head to waist level, which put his physical safety at risk."
The verdict was emphatic: "The International Football Association Board (IFAB) classifies this action as dangerous play on the part of the defender."