Does LaLiga have goalline technology? What about other major leagues?

Real Madrid welcomed Barcelona to the Santiago Bernabéu on 21 April 2024, and it didn’t take long for controversy to raise its regular head.

When Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal fired the ball towards the Real Madrid goal, Lunin tried his best to keep it out. To many onlookers – those on the pitch, in the stands, and others watching on their screens – it had appeared to cross the line. Remember that the whole of the ball needs to cross the whole of the line to count. But as the doubts floated around, the referee signalled that it was not a goal.

İlkay Gündoğan was quick to question the official. Others followed. Madrid players and their fans drew a huge breath of relief. But why was there any confusion anyway? Why wasn’t there goalline technology to provide a definitive answer?

Why is there no goalline technology in LaLiga?

The simple answer to that question is money. That’s right, ahead of the 2023/24 season, President of LaLiga, Javier Tebas, decided that the system, much like tennis’ Hawkeye, was too expensive to implement. That left Spain’s topflight as the only major European league without it.