'Must be a conspiracy against PSG!' - VAR in the firing line once more as Madrid & Courtois escape

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'Must be a conspiracy against PSG!' - VAR in the firing line once more as Madrid & Courtois escape image

VAR once more made the headlines in the Champions League as Real Madrid benefited from the technology in Tuesday's clash against Paris Saint-Germain. 

Zinedine Zidane's men had enjoyed a stellar first half at the Santiago Bernabeu, with Karim Benzema putting them 1-0 up after 17 minutes. 

Despite all their dominance, however, the hosts ended the opening 45 minutes facing a potentially game-changing reversal of fortunes. 

Mauro Icardi broke clear of the Madrid defence and was clumsily brought down by Thibaut Courtois, albeit with the Argentine going down rather eagerly. 

Referee Artur Soares Dias' first reaction was to show Courtois the red card, before deciding to consult with VAR over whether the foul took place inside the area - an outcome that would have seen a penalty given to PSG but the goalkeeper's punishment reduced to a yellow under the current guidelines. 

But there was a further twist: VAR footage showed that much earlier in the build-up Marcelo had been felled by an illegal push, leading Soares to bring back play to that original infringement and overlook the subsequent foul on Icardi entirely. 

There was no doubt that Marcelo had been fouled, but the bewilderment of the PSG squad in seeing a golden chance slip away was only matched by a flood of (somewhat tongue-in-cheek) criticism from confused social media users. 

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