24 Jun

The Premier League return is in full swing, Italy's Serie A also resumed its 2019-20 season and Spain's title race is heating up. It's Monday, and Gab Marcotti reacts to the biggest moments in the sport of football from the past week. 

Don't cry conspiracy in Real Madrid, Barcelona title race

Here we go. A title race this tight in La Liga, with the eternal rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona level on points with eight games remaining, can only mean one thing: controversy, conspiracy and bile.

Gerard Pique hinted at it even before Barcelona were held to a 0-0 draw at Sevilla on Friday, saying how hard it was going to be for his club since they no longer controlled their own destiny ("It's going to be difficult for Real Madrid to lose points"). And Barca manager Quique Setien, speaking on Monday after Real Madrid's controversial 2-1 win over Real Sociedad, had his own loaded comment: "Everybody saw what happened, everybody can draw his own conclusions. In my opinion, Pique is a very intelligent person."

There's not much to read between the lines because it's all out in plain view. Madrid's victory at Anoeta featured three big calls -- arguably four, if you count Casemiro's elbow, which was somewhere between a yellow- and red-card offense -- and they all went against Real Sociedad. 

Yet you can justify each one. There's no smoking gun proof that there was a miscarriage of justice. 

Casemiro might have seen red, but equally, many referees won't send a guy off 22 minutes into a match. Vinicius' penalty was "soft," and while there may or may not have been contact, Diego Llorente's lunge doesn't get the ball and puts Vinicius off his shot. Mikel Merino is in an offside position and in the way of Adnan Januzaj's shot: it's a judgment call as to whether he's interfering with Thibaut Courtois and whether his little hop puts him off. As for Karim Benzema's goal that wasn't disallowed, IFAB rules for 2020-21 define the arm as beginning "at the bottom of the armpit." Leagues are free to adopt this interpretation for the remainder of the 2019-20 season, but it must be remembered that even under the old guidance, referees have plenty of discretion. 

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