A bizarre decision in Sunday's El Clasico left commentators and fans fuming, as referee Cesar Soto Grado gave Real Madrid a penalty just five minutes into the second half.
Jude Bellingham drove with the ball to the touchline, before being met by a sliding Eric Garcia, resulting in the ball rebounding off the pair.
However, after bouncing back off the Madrid No5, it inadvertently hit the former Manchester City defenders hand in completely innocuous circumstances, and the referee agreed.
Grado was then sent to the VAR monitor to review the footage again, and ultimately pointed to the spot, leaving ESPN commentators Ian Darke and Steve McManaman utterly bewildered.
"A moment of madness!" Darke said, while McManaman was completely dumbfounded at VAR's intervention.
"It should never have been a penalty," the former Liverpool star fumed before adding his displeasure with VAR.
With the penalty handed to the ruthless Kylian Mbappe, it seemed for the world that Madrid's lead would be doubled - former Arsenal shotstopper Wojciech Szczesny had other ideas.
A bizarre decision in Sunday's El Clasico left commentators and fans fuming, as referee Cesar Soto Grado gave Real Madrid a penalty just five minutes after the restart
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The Polish goalkeeper pulled off an extraordinary save to his right-hand side to deny the French star and keep Barcelona within just one goal of their bitter rivals.
Astonishingly, it marks the first penalty miss since Samuel Eto’o for Barcelona all the way back in 2008.
And McManaman and Darke couldn't contain their delight in the commentary box, declaring it "poetic justice."
Kylian Mbappe saw his penalty saved by Wojciech Szczesny
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And fans seconded the view of McManaman and Darke, with supporters taking to social media to vent their frustrations.
"Another Real Madrid penalty that's not a penalty," one wrote.
Another added: "What an absolutely ridiculous penalty decision. People will overlook the decision because the pen was saved but man, so ridiculous. It was close range like 20cm that‘s never a penalty."
A third fumed: "How was that a penalty for Madrid?? The game is gone. La Liga officiating might just be worse than the Premier League's."
VAR was at centre stage once again in La Liga
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Despite the penalty miss, Madrid find themselves 2-1 up against Barcelona as they look to end a streak of four consecutive defeats against their bitter rivals.
Mbappe put the hosts ahead, profiting from a sublime pass through from Bellingham. The Frenchman finished it off with his trademark ruthlessness.
Fermin Lopez levelled the game for the hosts, smashing home after Marcus Rashford found the Spaniard.
But it was Bellingham once more who put Los Blancos ahead again, tapping home from close range for his second goal of the season.