Man City vs Barcelona 2014: The Demichelis Penalty and the Line Nobody Checked

The tie

Manuel Pellegrini's City were the Premier League's most prolific side and had set up to absorb Barcelona at the Etihad. The plan held for most of an hour. City had appeals of their own before the decisive moment — Pellegrini would later point to a Busquets foul on Jesús Navas in the same passage of play that the referee, 'three metres from the player', did not give.

The referee and the decision

Jonas Eriksson was one of UEFA's senior officials and would referee at that summer's World Cup. In the 53rd minute Iniesta sent Messi clear through the centre; Demichelis, caught out of position, brought down his compatriot from behind. UEFA's report describes the foul and the consequence — 'brought down his compatriot', last man, red card, penalty — but is silent on where the contact began. Replays showed Demichelis's challenge starting at the edge of the area and Messi falling inside it. Messi sent Joe Hart the wrong way in the 54th minute. Dani Alves added a second in the 90th.

The law as written in 2014

Two things were settled and one was not. Denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity by a foul was a straight red card in 2013/14 wherever it occurred, so the dismissal is hard to dispute; the 2016 change that softened the 'triple punishment' for genuine attempts to play the ball had not yet arrived. A foul is penalised where it is committed, so a foul that begins outside the area is a direct free kick, not a penalty. What the law did not settle, and what referees of the period judged case by case, was a challenge that starts outside and finishes inside. That is the question the jury votes on.

The aftermath

Pellegrini's post-match comments were unusually direct: 'From the beginning I felt that the referee was not impartial to both teams.' 'The penalty on Martín Demichelis was not a penalty — it was outside the box.' 'I think it was not a good idea to put a referee from Sweden in such an important match.' Three days later he apologised, saying the referee 'had a bad day — everyone can have a bad day' and that he had said things he did not mean. UEFA suspended him for three matches, one on two-year probation, for breaching its general principles of conduct; he watched the second leg from the stands as Barcelona won 2–1.

Cast your ruling

1. Exhibit AG

   The Foul That Moved Inside the Box

   Vote on the Demichelis penalty · 0 jurors

Play this controversy

This match is playable. Replay the Etihad After the Penalty — a free browser football game puts you in control as Manchester City from the 54th minute, against a referee whose bias level was set by the jury’s verdict on this very incident.

Sources

• UEFA — Clinical Barcelona pick off ten-man City (match report)
• UEFA — Pellegrini receives suspension (28 February 2014)
• Sky Sports — Man City 0–2 Barcelona report
• The42 — Pellegrini: 'the referee was not impartial'
• Fox Sports/AP — Pellegrini hit with three-match UEFA ban

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