The controversy was slow to appear, but he did not miss his appointment in the Montjuïc classic between Barcelona and Real Madrid. In this case, Barça felt very harmed after Gil Manzano did not whistle for Tchouaméni’s rude grab of Ronald Araujo inside the area. The play leaves no room for doubt, but neither the match referee nor the VAR decided to do anything about it.
The match was white glove, apart from several untimely tackles on both sides that did not cause blood to flow. The two teams heavily protested various decisions by Gil Manzano, but none of them were significant in the outcome of the game, until the final stretch of the first half arrived.
Gündogan sent a cross to the penalty spot and Araujo tried to get up there, but the Frenchman Tchouaméni tackled him with a hug. When it seemed that he could connect with the ball, the white player pushed the Barça player down with his arm so that in no case could he contact the ball. The Barça player claimed Gil Manzano, but got nothing in return. The VAR remained silent.
This play could have changed the outcome of the match, since at that moment Barça was winning 1-0. Had they scored the penalty, they would have gone into half-time with a two-goal lead. The play quickly went viral and many fans complained on social networks that the maximum penalty was not sanctioned.
