Heated debate over the 'hand to the face' incident in Barca's victory

22/10/2025 10:16:00 PANDATV

The incident where Santiago Hezze was shown a red card in Olympiakos's loss to Barcelona became the center of dispute.

Barcelona secured a convincing win against Olympiakos in the third round of the UEFA Champions League group stage. However, the result was overshadowed by a controversial moment in the second half.

Specifically, in the 57th minute, just three minutes after Olympiakos scored to narrow the gap and were energized to equalize, things became even tougher for the visitors. During a challenge with Marc Casado, Santiago Hezze appeared to gain the upper hand and seemingly accidentally touched Casado’s face with his hand. Casado immediately dropped to the ground, rolling around, and referee Urs Schnyder did not hesitate long before showing Hezze a second yellow card, resulting in his dismissal.

Tranh cãi nảy lửa pha 'chạm tay vào má' trận thắng của Barca 726398 — Fierce controversy surrounds Santiago Hezze’s red card after collision with Marc Casado

Witnessing the incident, fans expressed great outrage on social media, unanimously believing the punishment for the Olympiakos player was too harsh and disrupted the Greek side’s momentum.

One fan stated: "Neither of those yellow cards deserved to be given. It’s the usual 'robbery' known as UEFALONA."

Another said: "The referee only booked him because Olympiakos had just equalized. Welcome to 'Varcelona,' where VAR always favors one side."

A third fan complained: "I’m not saying our team would have won, but we had just reduced the deficit and then faced such unfair decisions. Please, at least give us a fair chance."

A fourth fan expressed anger: "In my opinion, every yellow card leading to a red should be reviewed by VAR. That situation was absurd; if anyone deserved punishment, it was the Barca player for the blatant dive."

Earlier, Barcelona showed clear dominance over Olympiakos. Coach Hansi Flick’s side scored two goals in the first half thanks to Fermin Lopez, then exploded with four more in the second half, including a brace from Marcus Rashford and goals from Yamal and Fermin Lopez, finishing the match with a 6-1 triumph.