Actual Madrid visited Espanyol on Matchday 22 of the 2024-25 La Liga season, aiming to keep up their momentum on the prime of the desk. In a heated match, the house facet secured a slim 1-0 victory, however controversy erupted after Kylian Mbappe was introduced down by a reckless deal with, prompting coach Carlo Ancelotti to overtly criticize the referees’ resolution.
The sport rapidly turned contentious. Within the ninth minute, Espanyol striker Jofre Carreras dealt with the ball contained in the field, sparking livid protests from Actual Madrid gamers, however no penalty was awarded. Later, within the twenty first minute, Vinicius Júnior noticed his aim dominated out as a consequence of a foul dedicated by Mbappe, additional fueling Madrid’s frustration.
Nonetheless, probably the most controversial second got here within the sixtieth minute, when Carlos Romero tackled Mbappe from behind, catching him immediately on the calf. Regardless of the reckless nature of the problem, VAR didn’t intervene, and referee Alejandro Muñiz Ruiz solely issued a yellow card. When requested concerning the resolution, Ancelotti didn’t maintain again in his criticism:
“The choice made by the referee and VAR is inexplicable. A very powerful factor is to guard the participant, and it was a transparent foul—a really ugly problem with critical threat. Happily, nothing occurred, however there was a threat of harm. VAR exists for conditions like this. We discover it inexplicable {that a} pink card was not given,” the coach mentioned within the post-match press convention.
Pressed about whether or not refereeing choices have been going in opposition to Actual Madrid not too long ago, Ancelotti selected to stay diplomatic however agency: “I don’t wish to discuss this subject. I’m solely referring to what occurred right this moment within the match, and I repeat, we discover the choice they made inexplicable when everybody has seen it.”
Mbappe and Romero react to the incident
Following Espanyol’s dramatic Eighty fifth-minute winner, consideration rapidly shifted to the controversy surrounding Romero’s deal with. When requested concerning the matter, each protagonist gave completely different reactions.
After the match, Carlos Romero addressed the foul and his problem on Mbappe. “I knew it was not possible to cease him in full stride, so I attempted to sluggish him down nonetheless I may. It was a little bit of an unpleasant deal with, and I apologized to him. It didn’t go any additional; it stayed there,” the defender mentioned
As for Mbappe, when requested within the blended zone whether or not he believed the problem warranted a pink card, the French star refused to remark, providing solely a smirk whereas making a zipping-lips gesture—implying he most well-liked to not communicate on the matter.
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