The sole goal of the match came in the second half, a header by Rubén Alves, which rewarded the consistent dominance of Iván Ania's team. However, attention was drawn to the VAR decisions, which invalidated two scoring actions, one by Rubén Alves and another by Kevin Medina, both for marginal offsides.
The first disallowance occurred in the 20th minute when Kevin Medina put Córdoba ahead with a powerful right-footed shot. Despite the initial celebration, the VOR room alerted referee Salvador Lax about a positional offside. Images shown at El Arcángel caused controversy, as Medina's arm appeared to be aligned with Zaragoza defender El Yamiq, the last man in the defense.
According to IFAB, the body governing football rules, the hand and arm are not considered punishable for offside, with the limit set at the bottom of the armpit. Nevertheless, the 'frame' used to justify the decision did not clear up doubts, as the alignment between El Yamiq's shoulder and Kevin Medina's armpit was almost perfect, and the thickness of the line in the 3D recreation complicated the clarity of the resolution.
A similar incident recurred in the final minutes of the match when VAR, supervised by Caparrós Hernández, disallowed a goal by Rubén Alves after a free-kick header. Although on this occasion the Hispanic-Brazilian's shoulder was slightly ahead, the decision was again marginal, reopening the debate on whether such tight calls truly provide a significant advantage to the attacker.
“"VAR ultimately gives you an image where you draw the line on the shoulder, draw it a little higher or a little lower. I don't believe much in those images, because whether the line is thinner or thicker determines whether the goal is legal or not. It depends on how your shoulder is, if you have a lot of trapezius or not, or if your shirt is too big, you have to believe it because VAR says so. We can't do anything about that."
The controversy quickly spread among Córdoba fans and other Second Division supporters on social media, fueling the debate about VAR's influence and the impact of technology on such close decisions that barely alter the actual flow of the game. Despite everything, Córdoba CF managed to secure a well-deserved triumph.
