Ronald Koeman Bizarrely Claims VAR Is 'Only Used Against Barcelona'

Ronald Koeman has bizarrely claimed that VAR in La Liga is only used against his side, disputing the penalty decision that turned Saturday's El Clasico in favour of Real Madrid.

The Dutchman finds himself under increasing pressure after his first derby as manager ended in a 3-1 defeat. Ansu Fati became the youngest scorer in Clasico history when he cancelled out Federico Valverde's early opener, but after VAR deemed that Clement Lenglet had upended Sergio Ramos in the area - after a lengthy review, naturally - there was only going to be one winner.

Barça could have had a penalty of their own, but Raphael Varane was deemed not to have fouled Lionel Messi, while a later handball appeal was also waved away.

"I don't understand VAR, I think it is only used to make decisions against Barça," Koeman said to the club's official media after the game.

"You always get shirt tugs like that in the area and I think Ramos makes a foul on Lenglet first. There's a tug of the shirt, but not enough to make him fall behind as he did. For me it's not a penalty.

"We have had five matches and [VAR] has only been used to go against Barça. It's never gone our way. The decision had a big influence on the final result, because we were playing well up to the penalty."

It's worth noting that VAR is constantly in operation, so the idea that it is only used to put Barça at a disadvantage shows a fundamental misunderstanding of how the technology works.

Alternatively, Koeman could be looking to hide behind the alleged deficiencies in technology, with Barcelona well off the pace so far. They have already lost to Getafe, having signed off for the international break with a dour point against Sevilla.

Barça have taken just seven points from their five matches so far - leaving them marooned in mid-table - and leaves you wondering at what point will it stop being VAR's fault.