The evening could have been perfect for Real Madrid. A victory against Villarreal. A goal for rookie Yan Diomandé. A goal also for Vinicius Jr, in search of rebound and confidence. But everything changed when VAR intervened on this goal that the Brazilian international thought he had scored.
The verdict? Goal refused, for a foul by Vinicius beforehand. And not just any foul: a hair pulling on Nathan Saliba, which prompted the referee to show the attacker the red card. To the great amazement of the main person concerned, and of all “Madridism”.
Immediately, Real cried foul. This red card nevertheless respects the regulations. In strange timing, the same sanction was inflicted a few minutes apart, during a women’s Spain-USA, for Athenea del Castillo. A defender who plays… for Real.
Real Madrid believes in conspiracy
In Madrid, we clearly have not digested this decision. Extremely rare, José Mourinho did not appear at a press conference. According to Marca, the Portuguese coach confided that he did not want to be suspended for the matches against Sevilla and Barça, which could have been the case if he had said everything he thought about refereeing. No player appeared in the mixed zone. Aurélien Tchouaméni only spoke on Real Madrid TV. “In the end I don’t understand what’s going on with the referees, this red card, I don’t understand”railed the French international.
This controversy arises in an already heated context, with Real Madrid believing itself to be the victim of a conspiracy by authorities. During the international break, the club from the Spanish capital officially contacted UEFA so that the European body could rule on the Negreira affair, and investigate the links between FC Barcelona and the former head of referees.
Chants such as “Corruption to the Federation”, “Tebas, resign!” and “Negreira, keep pulling the strings!” » resounded incessantly in the Madrid stadium during the match, reports Marca. Before the Clasico against Barça, in two weeks, tension is at its height.
