Leganes set to appeal for a rematch against Levante after VAR failure
La Liga side Leganes have appealed for a rematch against Levante after claiming that Video Assistant referee (VAR) system failed in the game. Leganes feel they wrongly conceded a penalty for a foul by defender Dimitris Siovas on Roger Marti that appeared to occur outside the area.
Referee Munuera Montero’s communication equipment with VAR room seemed to fail which forced the fourth official to pass on the VAR decision to the referee via phone. Levante went on to win the game 2-1. Leganes are the bottom of La Liga and their President Victoria Pavon would request La Liga to replay the match from the 44th minute. VAR has been constantly criticised for taking out the flavour and uncertainty from the game.
"Very serious things have happened in this match - like calling a penalty against us that was a foul outside the area. It also happened in the match against Valencia a few weeks ago, but in addition to that the VAR the system was not working correctly so we feel we have not been able to compete in equal conditions," said Pavon.
La Liga implemented VAR last season but there have been regular cases where VAR has given unfavourable decisions. VAR was brought to make it things easier for referees but now the whole existence of VAR is questioned. The win against Leganes now takes Levante to 11 points in 8 games whereas Leganes continue to search for their first win of the season, and they play Getafe away post the international break.