Messi’s Missed Penalty Should Have Been Retaken

Lionel Messi’s penalty against Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday evening should have been retaken.

After scoring an outrageous 25-yard thunderbolt to level matters, the six-time Ballon d’Or winner had the chance to give Barcelona a glimmer of hope in the Champions League round of 16 second leg when Antoine Griezmann was fouled by Layvin Kurzawa.

Messi saw his spot-kick saved by Keylor Navas, the ball hitting his legs and cannoning off the bar. But the penalty should have been retaken as PSG’s Italian midfielder Marco Verratti had encroached.

The 28-year-old was in the D-shaped area connected to the penalty box as Messi stepped up from 12 yards. He was then able to react quicker than anyone else and clear the ball.

VAR checked for encroaching and whether or not Navas had strayed off his line but bizarrely no retake was ordered. It was a perplexing call that angered fans on social media:

Had Messi scored at the second time of asking, it would have made it 2-1 on the night and 5-3 on aggregate going into the second half.

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Barca also bemoaned Anthony Taylor’s decision to award a soft penalty for PSG’s opener after Clement Lenglet accidentally stood on the foot of Mauro Icardi.

The Blaugrana, five time winners of the competition, have failed to reach the quarter finals for the first time in 14 years as a result of their 5-2 aggregate exit.