All the controversy, VAR, red cards and penalties from Real Madrid’s 3-2 win over Atlético Madrid

It was an exciting match week in LaLiga EA Sports, with unexpected outcomes in almost every match. It was also a weekend full of controversy. Here’s the reaction and analysis to the weekend’s more heated moments...

Real Madrid 3-2 Atlético Madrid

Madrid equalised the match thanks to a penalty converted by Vinícius in the 52nd minute. The spot-kick was awarded by Munuera Montero for a foul by Hancko on Brahim. AS USA’s referee expert Ander Iturralde believes that “it is not a penalty” after television cameras showed several replay angles.

“At first it looks very marginal, like a trip. But in the last overhead image you can see that it is not a penalty. Hancko gets there much earlier to put his leg in, and then Brahim takes a step forward and it is Brahim who hits Hancko. VAR is not going to step in to correct him, but if you give this penalty, you also have to give the one where Carvajal brings down Lookman in the 8th minute for being reckless,” Iturralde explained on Spanish radio show Carrusel Deportivo.

In the 77th minute, Madrid were reduced to ten men. Valverde was sent off with a straight red card for a challenge on Álex Baena.

“The referee judges the action as excessive force, which is why he sends Valverde off. Is it excessive force or not? That is the difficult part of refereeing. For me it is much more clearly a yellow card than a red,” Iturralde argued.

FC Barcelona 1-0 Rayo Vallecano

In the 19th minute of the match, Lamine appealed for a penalty after a challenge from Pathé Ciss following a cut inside the box.

“It is a penalty, he moves his leg. One thing would be if Pathé Ciss were standing still, but he moves his leg. I understand it is very marginal for VAR to intervene. What the referee cannot do is tell him to get up because there is contact, and if he tells him to get up, that is a yellow card,” Iturralde said on Carrusel.

Cordero Vega and VAR did not award anything.

In the 35th minute, there was another possible penalty, this time by Fermín on Ratiu, which the referee also did not give. VAR did not intervene either and play continued.

“If VAR did not intervene in the other one, it will not intervene in this one either. But it is a clear penalty, it is much clearer than Lamine’s. It is a clear penalty.”

Elche 2-1 Mallorca

The match at the Martínez Valero could have taken a dramatic turn as normal time was about to run out. An apparently routine action caught the attention of the VAR officials when Bigas made contact with the ball inside the area, seemingly first with his leg and then, after the rebound, with his arm. Alberola Rojas reviewed the incident on the monitor and awarded a penalty after confirming the infringement.

Iturralde explained that it is only a penalty “if Bigas does not touch it with his leg. If he touches it with his leg it would be a clearance. If he touches it only with his hand, then it is a penalty.”

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