Real Madrid’s Frustration with Officiating
Real Madrid is expressing ongoing frustration with the officiating in LaLiga, a sentiment echoed by a club insider to ESPN. The dissatisfaction follows a weekend of controversial refereeing where the team had three of their goals disallowed during their match against Mallorca, which they ultimately won 2-1. The situation is further complicated by accusations that their rivals, Barcelona and Atlético Madrid, benefited from questionable VAR decisions.
Controversial Match Incidents
In the match at the Santiago Bernabéu, Kylian Mbappé notably saw two goals annulled for offside, while Arda Güler’s effort was ruled out due to a handball. This incident particularly aggravated Madrid supporters, as they believe the application of the rules regarding Güler’s goal was flawed. According to the club, an “immediate” handball ruling should not apply in this case since the goalkeeper intervened before the goal attempt was made.
Efforts for Reform
The dissatisfaction comes despite recent attempts by the Spanish refereeing committee, the CTA, to reform the officiating system. After facing consistent criticism from Real Madrid last season, the CTA made significant changes over the summer, including appointing a new president and altering its head of VAR.
Ongoing Concerns
However, a senior official from Madrid has indicated that although there is a glimmer of hope that the current tensions may settle as the season progresses, the club’s concerns regarding officiating persist. Currently, Real Madrid holds the record for the most VAR disallowed goals in Europe’s top leagues, with 19 disallowed goals in their last 41 matches. Meanwhile, Villarreal, Bournemouth, Rennes, and Venezia follow closely with seven disallowed goals each.
Additional Complaints
In addition to the Mallorca match, Madrid took issue with what they termed as “clear refereeing errors” favoring their rivals. Atlético Madrid drew with Alavés, but the scoreline could have shifted in favor of Alavés had VAR duly flagged an offside infringement that led to Giuliano Simeone’s equalizing goal. In another notable instance, Barcelona’s 1-1 draw against Rayo Vallecano featured a VAR outage in the first half, deemed scandalous by Madrid insiders. They suggested that had VAR been operational, Lamine Yamal’s penalty that put Barcelona ahead would likely have been disallowed.
Looking Ahead
As Real Madrid prepares for upcoming fixtures, including a challenging Champions League draw against Liverpool and Manchester City, they will be looking to navigate this precarious environment of controversy, hoping their grievances might be alleviated in the weeks to come.
