Spanish Football Federation, Kinexon, Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad
2 November 2026
Spain’s refereeing committee has identified a timing synchronisation problem affecting connected-ball data used to review a penalty in Athletic Bilbao’s match against Real Sociedad.
Kinexon found that the ball sensor and video footage were misaligned by approximately 20 to 40 milliseconds. Correcting the timing indicated that a Real Sociedad player had made the disputed touch, raising questions about the penalty decision. The committee said the video officials acted on the information available and that the ball sensor itself functioned correctly.
Why It Matters
The incident exposes how small synchronisation errors can affect technology-assisted refereeing decisions.