José Luis Munuera Montero put on a show this Saturday night. The referee of the match between Real Madrid and Espanyol Barcelona handed out cards in quick succession – seven in total – refusing to accept that the players questioned his judgments. The Spanish official focused mainly on the stars in order to assert his authority over the game, not hesitating in particular to threaten Kylian Mbappé with expulsion, a little too talkative for his taste. “Hey, Kylian… (he signals him to relax) You play, Kylian!”imposed the 41-year-old referee, as shown by the cameras of Movistar.
The other Real Madrid stars also got their share of criticism. Vinicius Junior, Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappé all received a yellow card for protesting. Warnings without cost for the Madrid players who finished the match with 11 men and finally managed to win (4-1) against the Catalans. But the captain of the Blues narrowly escaped punishment in front of this heated referee.
