Bale miss avoids huge VAR controversy

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Luckily for the referee, Bale missed his one-on-one. Capturas/beINSports

Estadio de Vallecas witnessed what would have been one of the most controversial moments of the season on Sunday evening as Rayo Vallecano took the lead against Real Madrid - but it all could have been so different.

Rayo forward Javi Guerra fell in the box under a challenge from Jesús Vallejo, but play continued and Real Madrid mounted a dangerous counter attack. The ball fell to Gareth Bale, whose effort was saved by Rayo keeper Alberto Garcia.

However, the referee, aided by VAR, stopped play, watched the replay on the big screen and awarded a penalty. Adrián Embarba stepped up to score and put the hosts ahead.

Vallejo seemed to pull down Guerra after a cross from the left, but as Rayo's players appealed for a penalty, play continued and Mariano played in Bale, whose touch let him down and led to him missing what had been the best chance of the game at that point.

April 28, 2019

If Gareth Bale had scored, it would have left VAR with a huge decision. The referee would have had to disallow a Real Madrid goal to award Rayo a penalty at the other end - something never seen before in the short history of VAR.

April 28, 2019