It’s the Saturday night bill in Spain. On the 27th day of La Liga, Real Madrid traveled to the Estadio Mestalla to challenge the Valencia club. Installed in the first half of the table despite a checkered journey since the start of this 2023-2024 edition, the che club nevertheless intended to reconnect once and for all with Europe. To do this, it was imperative to play a bad trick on his Madrid counterpart, who occupied first place in the ranking despite lackluster performances in recent weeks. After being led by two goals to zero after the goals of Hugo Duro and Roman Yaremchuk, Real Madrid turned things around thanks to a double from Vinicius to secure a draw (2-2). But one action has not finished generating ink in Spain.
As the final whistle approached, the Merengues wanted to bank on one last opportunity to snatch victory. On a counter led by Modric and Vinicius, Jude Bellingham obtained a very good corner after a deflected cross. In the 90th + 8th minute, the corner is taken by Modric but repelled by the Valencia defense. Brahim Diaz collected the ball wide, drove in at the opposite corner post after a solo dribbling sequence and unleashed a cross into the box. Bellingham headed the ball perfectly to deceive the Valencia goalkeeper. But the referee of the match, Jesús Gil Manzano, decided to whistle the end of the match during Diaz’s cross, in the middle of a decisive action for Real Madrid. The final confusing seconds turned into mini scuffles and virulent complaints around the refereeing body, which also resulted in Jude Bellingham’s red card.
A scandal for Real Madrid!
While Vinicius and Aurélien Tchouaméni sent a very spicy tweet on their respective X accounts, the Italian coach, Carlo Ancelotti, analyzed this last action, still in shock from this arbitration decision: “This is something that has never happened to me in my career. Bellingham doesn’t understand the red card and he didn’t say any insults, we’ll see the referee’s report.”, declared the tactician at a press conference. The French midfielder tweeted: “It is shameful”, while the Brazilian simply contented himself with an ironically crying laughing emoji. In the Real Madrid TV broadcast, Madrid journalists put their hands on their heads, shouting expressions such as “It’s a flight”, “it’s a shame”, “This is unheard of”. Alfonso Pérez Burrull, a former Spanish referee, nevertheless agrees with his colleague: “The referee whistles correctly. The reductions are for both those who attack and those who defend Brahim. He takes the ball and his cross corresponds to a second play. At that moment, he underlines it correctly.he analyzed on Radio Marca.
On the Valencia side, the main protagonists, including coach Ruben Baraja, decided to take action at a press conference: “I saw it clearly, I saw how the referee whistled before crossing. He also gave 5 minutes in the first half and Madrid scored against us in stoppage time. The referee decided like that and there is not much more to say.. While the young midfielder, Javi Guerra, said: “From the bench, I saw the referee raise his hand. I think it was a similar play at the end of the first half, when the rebound fell to Sergi Canós inside the box and he whistled.”. Arbitration has not finished attracting wrath in Spain!
