Güler case: "Since there is no evidence, intervention is not possible," says the CTA

The controversy sparked by Arda Güler's elbow to Peque during the first half of Real Madrid-Sevilla with the score at 0-0, which has outraged Sevilla supporters who believe the Turk should have been sent off, has pointed directly to the VAR room and the television production, produced since last season by Global Futbol Production (GFP).

Sources from LaLiga, contacted by this newspaper, have explained that the reason there is no clear shot of the play despite 23 being used for the match broadcast is that only the wider-angle ones—the endline camera, the Skycam, and the one intended for offsides—captured the image. 

It was not a production error, simply that it does not exist. And the signal that reaches the television truck that broadcasts the images to every home, they say, is the same one received by Cuadra Fernández's team, the one responsible for VAR in the match at the Bernabéu.

Meanwhile, other sources from the Technical Committee of Referees (CTA) pointed out that "of the multiple cameras at the match, not all are suitable for VAR. The action takes place behind the referee’s back, in an off-the-ball area. The cameras were not focused there, only those with a very wide shot. As has been seen, the action appears, but there is no detail".

And they add that "it is not clear whether he hits him with the shoulder, with the elbow, with the hand, in the face... It cannot be seen. And since there is no evidence, it cannot be intervened in. On the field it was not penalized and the VAR, without conclusive proof, cannot do anything".

GFP took over from Mediapro last year. It is a joint venture formed by HBS (on the production side) and the Italian technology company NVP (on the technical services side). It signed a five-season deal with LaLiga, through 29/30.