Deportivo CEO Massimo Benassi addressed the media at Riazor following his team’s victory over Leganés. Players were barred from the mixed zone, a decision Benassi explained was made to avoid controversial statements from the squad. The visibly serious Italian executive criticized what he described as another video assistant referee mistake.
“We can accept the referee’s error, but we do not accept the VAR error,” he told reporters at Riazor Stadium. “We’re playing for a lot—the work of many people—and we’ve been working on this for years. We will defend our players to the end. This is about opening a discussion on VAR’s performance.”
**No Mixed Zone**
“No player will speak in the mixed zone. We believe this is the right decision after everything that keeps happening. We don’t want to say anything bad about any institution or Spanish football. With emotions running high, we decided to handle it this way.”
**VAR Issue**
“Just as players make mistakes, referees can also make mistakes. But a VAR error is unacceptable. We are constantly in contact with the federation bodies, calmly conveying our feelings to spark a debate. We have to protect the competition and the players, and today that didn’t happen.”
**Difference Between Referee and VAR**
“We have no doubt about the refereeing. This is to send a clear message: we accept the referee’s error but not the VAR’s. The rules are clear—VAR should only intervene if the error is obvious, clear, and manifest. If you pause an image for more than five minutes, it’s no longer clear.”
**Insisting on VAR Mistake**
“There comes a point when it’s very difficult to accept certain dynamics. And since we don’t believe in official statements, we prefer to speak out and confront the issue. Our relationship with the CTA [Technical Committee of Referees] is excellent. In no way can a player’s hand while turning to run be unnatural. We saw in Burgos that the CTA explained a mistake was made. We see a penalty given to another team, yet Mulattieri’s in Huesca wasn’t. It’s not a referee problem—it’s a VAR problem.”
**The Situation Worsens**
“I don’t think this is a snowball effect. Until a month ago, things were applied more clearly. But now we’ve had four, five, or six matches where the application is not the same as at the start of the season. The other day in Burgos we left with two fewer points, and today if Ferllo doesn’t stop that penalty, it would have been worse.”
**No Conspiracy Beliefs**
“I don’t believe in campaigns against Deportivo. The club simply wants the rules—which are crystal clear—to be applied. If the error is obvious, clear, and manifest, VAR steps in, period. What happened today kills football.”
**Defending the Purpose of VAR**
“It’s a magnificent tool, as Rayo’s president or Eder Sarabia have rightly explained. It helps reduce mistakes and allows us to enjoy better football. The issue is how it’s used. The protagonists are the players, and today at Riazor, that wasn’t the case.”
**Deportivo 2 – Leganés 1**
Álvaro Ferllo stops VAR so Deportivo can believe in promotion.
**Hidalgo on VAR: “In the last action, common sense didn’t prevail”**
**Final Reflection**
“This isn’t a protest—it’s a message. There are four games left, and we want these VAR actions to be taken very seriously because we’re playing for a lot. We already left Burgos with two fewer points. I hope that in a month, the club doesn’t need those two points to be in one position or another. This affects promotions, relegations, and finances. What happened today is not football. And this is not a protest—it’s a clear message.”
