Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid played out a thrilling 1-1 draw at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday.
As expected, the match was not without its share of controversy, with two incidents making headlines.
The first notable incident occurred midway through the first half when Atleti midfielder Pablo Barrios had his ankle stepped on by Real Madrid’s Dani Ceballos. Referee Cesar Soto Grado issued a yellow card to Ceballos for the foul. ..Continue Reading
However, former referee Eduardo Iturralde Gonzalez expressed to Cadena SER (via Diario AS) that he believed the decision was incorrect and that Real Madrid should have been reduced to 10 men.
“It’s a red card, because Ceballos doesn’t go to the ball. He is going to step on him clearly and turns his right leg to step. For me, VAR should have intervened because it’s a red card.”
Iturralde Gonzalez also commented on the penalty awarded to Atletico Madrid, which allowed Julian Alvarez to score the opening goal. In this instance, he agrees that referee Soto Grado made the right call.
“It’s a penalty. The CTA, which is the one that dictates the referee’s criteria, says that stepping on an opponent inside the area in a dispute for the ball is a penalty. A few hours ago, Athletic’s 1-0 (against Girona) came because of another stomp.
“Here we cannot talk about a residual penalty, since due to that stomp the Atletico player cannot continue in the attacking phase. The ball was still inside the area and in the possession of Simeone’s team and after that stomp you leave the player with no chance of finishing.”
Given these circumstances, Atletico Madrid might feel unfortunate not to have had a numerical advantage for most of the match at the Bernabeu.
Nonetheless, they can take satisfaction in the draw, while Real Madrid will likely view it as a missed opportunity and two points lost.
