Messi, sitting in front of the TV, couldn't help getting to his feet and leaning toward the screen, his heart pounding.
That goal had been absolutely crucial.
The referee went over to the VAR monitor on the sideline, and a furtive figure appeared beside him.
The referee put on his headset and was about to watch the replay when he sensed someone moving beside him. He turned his head and jumped in surprise.
Suarez was standing right next to him, craning his neck to see the result on the screen.
Without a word, the referee pulled a yellow card out of his pocket and flashed it at Suarez.
Suarez looked completely bewildered. What was going on? Why?
He pointed at the ground beneath his feet, indicating that he hadn't stepped into the VAR area. Why was he getting a yellow card?
The referee offered no explanation and gestured for Suarez to leave.
Suarez had earned himself a completely undeserved yellow card just for being curious, and he felt thoroughly wronged.
Li Mingyu, standing near the center of the pitch, looked at Suarez with an expression of "concern for a developmentally challenged child."
You never knew when Suarez might do something completely incomprehensible.
The referee was checking VAR. What was he going over there for?
Messi, watching at home, could only laugh wryly. Back when he and Suarez had been teammates, he'd already known that Suarez didn't think quite like everyone else.
Soon, the broadcast showed the replay the referee had watched.
At the moment Dembele passed the ball, Li Mingyu and the opposing defender were level, with two lines drawn beneath them.
The red line marking Li Mingyu was just a hair ahead of the blue line marking the Atletico Madrid defender—so slight that it was nearly impossible to see