GIOVANI LO CELSO believed he had scored a sensational equalizer for his Real Betis team against Barcelona.

However, the former Tottenham player found his strike disallowed after a contentious VAR review.

Lo Celso, 30, was part of the Betis squad facing league leaders Barcelona at a buzzing Estadio La Cartuja.

The visitors took the lead early on with a remarkable curling shot from Ballon d’Or candidate Lamine Yamal just 10 minutes into the match.

Valentin Gomez leveled the score for Betis, but Rodri quickly restored Barcelona’s advantage – setting the stage for Lo Celso’s moment of brilliance.

The Argentine connected brilliantly with a bouncing ball from about 25 yards out, launching it into the net.

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Lo Celso’s remarkable goal ignited excitement among players and fans alike, but Betis’ celebration was short-lived.

In a surprising turn of events, the match referee was directed to review the incident by the pitchside monitor.

This decision triggered an angry response from Betis manager Manuel Pellegrini, resulting in him receiving a yellow card for his protests.

Upon reviewing the monitor, it was revealed that he was assessing a potential handball that occurred over 15 seconds and multiple passes before the goal was scored.

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Despite the controversy, the referee decided to annul the goal, leaving the home crowd in disbelief.

Betis later regretted this moment, succumbing to a heavy 5-2 defeat against the dominant visitors.

Former Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus found the net in the 51st minute, although Abde Ezzalzouli narrowed the gap just two minutes later.

Before play could resume, however, Betis was forced to play with 10 men after Facundo Bernal was shown a red card.

Barcelona players were particularly irate after Betis’ goal, claiming Fermin Lopez was fouled in the buildup.

This led to Yamal pushing Bernal, who retaliated by grabbing hold of the young Spanish star.

As tensions rose, Bernal appeared to headbutt Yamal, who then fell dramatically to the ground.

The referee issued a red card to Bernal for his actions, while Yamal also received a booking upon standing up.

With Betis reduced to ten men, the contest was effectively over, as Eric Garcia and Dani Olmo added more goals to finalize the score at 5-2.

Barcelona is set to play again on Tuesday night in an exciting Champions League matchup against Paris Saint-Germain.