Since La Liga officially introduced VAR technology in the 2018-19 season, statistics have been compiled on goals initially deemed valid by the referee but subsequently overturned and disallowed by video replay. This data has once again become a hot topic following the controversial incident involving Vinicius in Real Madrid's match against Villarreal.

The statistics, published by Spanish data analyst MisterChip on social media, show that: Real Madrid has had a total of 42 goals disallowed by VAR, ranking first among all La Liga clubs; Atlético Madrid and Villarreal are tied for second with 22 goals each; Celta Vigo, Real Sociedad, and Sevilla each have 20 goals; Barcelona is in seventh place with 19 goals, a difference of 23 goals compared to Real Madrid.

Vinicius controversy brings data back into focus

A notable incident occurred in the Real Madrid vs. Villarreal match: Vinicius pulled the hair of opposing defender Salibá before scoring. The referee initially awarded the goal, but VAR intervened and flagged a foul. After reviewing the replay, the referee disallowed the goal. This decision brought Real Madrid's total number of disallowed VAR goals to 42.

Based on these statistics extrapolated over time, if VAR had not intervened, these 42 goals would have counted as valid for Real Madrid. This represents an average of approximately 4.6 goals per season that Real Madrid would have gained; for Barcelona, this average is 2.1 goals per season. Atlético Madrid and Villarreal averaged about 2.4 goals each, while Celta Vigo, Real Sociedad, and Sevilla averaged about 2.2 goals each.

Discussion sparked by the data

This data set only counts cases where the referee initially awarded a goal that was later overturned and disallowed by VAR. It does not cover other situations, such as VAR awarding goals to a team or disallowing opponents' goals. Therefore, this data reflects only one dimension and cannot fully represent the overall gains or losses for each team from VAR decisions. However, the significant numerical disparity has sparked public debate in Spanish football: which team has truly been the primary beneficiary of VAR technology?

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