Real Madrid and Ancelotti fume as referee fails to send off “ugly” match-winner

Carlos Romero scored the only goal when Madrid lost to Espanyol, but could easily have received a red card for an error on Kylian Mbappé.

In controversial conditions, Real Madrid went into the race for the LaLiga title and lost away from Espanyol in Barcelona. Carlos Romero scored the winning goal for the Catalans in the 85th minute and had been incredibly happy to prevent a red card for an error on Kylian Mbappé in the hour.

Mbappé raced away on the counterattack when Romero ran him near the line and stopped a promising break. The left back of Espanyol committed a clear tactical error without planning to get the ball, and also seemed to rake his studs along the leg of the Madrid star.

Referee Alejandro Muñiz Ruiz waved with a yellow card, but was not called upon to further revise the incident by the VAR, who lifted many eyebrows.

To make even worse for injury to Los Blancos, Romero scored the winning goal with five minutes to play.

The defender admitted in a postgame interview that his tackle on Mbappé had been “a bit ugly” and that he had apologized to the Frenchman.

Immediately after the incident, the former Laliga referee Referee Referee Eduardo ITurraled González mentioned, speaking on the Spanish radio program “Carrus Deportivo” the Challenge a “red, a dark red, even savior than” and “one of the worst tackles I recently recently seen years ”.

In his press conference after the match, Ancelotti was furious about how Romero had succeeded in preventing him from being sent away.

“That mistake … The decision they have made is inexplicable. The referee, the VAR … everyone saw it. The most important thing is to keep an eye on things like that and to protect the player. It was a clear mistake, a really ugly tackle. Fortunately, nothing happened, but there was the risk of an injury.

“VAR is for that. We find it inexplicable that he did not show a red card. “

As a result of the defeat, Laliga leaders Madrid are now only one point free from Atlético Madrid, against whom they play in the Bernabéu next Saturday (February 8).