Opta has drawn criticism from bettors after removing a Vinícius Júnior effort from its official El Clásico stats. The disputed incident came during Barcelona’s 2-0 win over Real Madrid on May 10.
Sportsbooks use Opta data to settle player prop markets, including shots and shots on target. When a live stat changes, bets that looked settled one way can be graded another way.
Bettors challenged the 64th-minute call
The dispute centred on a 64th-minute sequence involving Vinícius. Opta first logged the Real Madrid winger with a shot before later removing it from the official feed.
Clips shared online appeared to show Vinícius sending the ball toward goal before the goalkeeper intervened. Several bettors argued the play should have counted as at least a shot attempt, and some said it met the standard for a shot on target.
Player prop bets depend on official feeds
The classification carried a direct betting impact. Shots, shots on target and player performance markets are often settled by the official statistics supplier named in a bookmaker’s rules.
Betfair uses Opta to settle shot and shot-on-target markets. It also warns that Opta can review statistics and make amendments after a market has appeared on site.
That creates a narrow path for disputes. Operators may point to the final supplier feed, while customers may point to video footage or earlier in-play data. The problem becomes sharper in high-volume matches such as El Clásico, where player props attract heavy attention.
Opta reviews data during and after matches
Opta’s betting data process uses trained analysts who apply its event definitions in real time. An independent monitor also reviews the data during the match.
After full-time, Opta runs post-match analysis and validation. That review is used to find events or qualifiers that may have been missed, wrongly classified or coded incorrectly.
Shot and shot-on-target totals can change after the live feed first updates. Final settlement depends on the statistics provider named in the bookmaker’s rules.
