Girona starlet Echeverri confesses: ‘Yes, I stepped on Kounde’ before decisive goal against Barcelona

Estadi Montilivi, Monday night. Girona had already stunned the Catalans with a 2-1 victory, but the final scoreline is now overshadowed by an admission that will fuel Barcelona frustration for weeks. Claudio Echeverri, the 18-year-old Argentine loanee from Manchester City, has openly acknowledged that he trod on Jules Kounde in the same sequence that culminated in Fran Beltran’s 79th-minute winner—an incident missed by referee Cesar Soto Grado and left unchecked by VAR.

Replays show Echeverri surging toward goal at pace, his boot making clear contact with Kounde’s lower leg and sending the French defender sprawling. Girona continued uninterrupted, Beltran converted, and the hosts sealed a victory that lifts them while leaving Barcelona two points adrift of Real Madrid at the summit of La Liga.

Speaking to El Chiringuito immediately after the match, Echeverri removed any lingering ambiguity. Initially asking to see the footage—“Do you have it there?”—he watched once, then responded plainly: “Yes, I stepped on him. The thing is, I was coming at speed, and it was unintentional. If the referee had called a foul, I would have understood.”

The Referees Technical Committee (CTA) has since conceded that VAR should have recommended an on-field review, a rare public acknowledgement that the decision directly impacted the outcome. Barcelona, already facing a tight title race, now head into the season’s final stretch knowing a pivotal call slipped through the cracks.

Girona’s camp, for its part, will celebrate three precious points, yet the conversation across Spain will center on how a stamp seen “from every angle” went unpunished, altering the title landscape in the process.