Matchday 15 in the First Division left several controversial actions regarding refereeing, the most striking being the expulsion of Milla, from Getafe, after insulting Buchanan when the Villarreal player hit him with a ball while he was on the ground, … and the red cards to the Madrid fans Fran García and especially Álvaro Carreras.
Oviedo – Mallorca
Expulsions of Cazorla (89) and Fede Viñas (95), after a VAR warning. Cazorla had been shown yellow and the other had only been penalized with a foul. In both cases they are tackles with the studs at the ankle, so both are red, but the referee on the field should have seen it, especially the second one.
Alavés- Real Sociedad
Minutes 45+2: Alberola sanctions a penalty for a handball by Elustondo. It is true that the ball hits his arm after a bad clearance by a teammate, but he is a few meters away from him and his arm is fully extended. The ball could have fallen to an opponent.
Betis – Barcelona
Minute 54: Penalty sanctioned by Bartra for handball after VAR review. Success. Although before it hits him in the body, the arm is above the shoulder from the beginning of the action. The key is how your arm is when you go to the fight. The arm is completely vertical.
Minute 89: Penalty awarded by Kounde to Abde for knocking him down. It is clear because he trips him from behind.
Athletic Club- Atleti
Minute 25: They ask for a penalty for Giuliano pushing Nico Williams when he jumps and is in the air. It is true that he puts his arm on his back to bother him, but there is no movement. There is no penalty.
Minute 47: Forgive a player a card for seriously insulting another. He does it in the bench area, more participants listen to him, and the red card is forgiven. From that moment on, can you tell me what authority you have to manage the remainder of the game…
Espanyol – Rayo Vallecano
Minute 36: Pep Chavarría loses the ball on the edge of the area where Dolan steals it, who falls when the defender tries to recover the ball again. Sánchez Martínez gives a penalty but he makes a mistake. The contact is the result of the dispute and the forward goes to the ground voluntarily, not because he has been fouled.
Real Madrid – Celta
Quintero González He has shown to have a lot of personality. He has been very lucky with his decisions. He has not been intimidated by the stage or by the players and coaching staff of Madrid. He sends off Fran García for two yellow cards, in two fouls with a gap of one minute, and shows the second yellow card to Carreras for making a fuss about him. Later, several players surround him, and he admonishes them for repeatedly protesting him. What’s more, he goes to the bench and shows another red card for something that he understands he cannot allow.
The game itself had tension but no controversial play. He admonishes Carreras for protesting and then tells him: “You’re very bad”, so he shows him a red card. Endrick protests angrily from the bench, and also sends him off with a straight red card. The normal thing is that both are punished with two games each.
Carvajal, who was in the tunnel from the locker room without being able to do so, comments on his performance and may also be sanctioned, although being injured, it will have little relevance.
The other controversy of the day is Milla’s expulsion. Buchanan hits him with the ball in play when it had fallen to the ground, he gets up, goes towards the Villarreal player and in front of the assistant and fourth referee, says: “You are a son of a bitch.” What Buchanan does is a gesture that we can consider “ugly”, but it cannot be considered aggression, far from it. It is a legal action, as the ball is in play. How many times does a player hit another player to cause a throw-in, corner or goal in his favor? What the referee cannot and should not do is turn a deaf ear, or close his eyes, to forgive the mistakes of Mile or Carreras, among others. And the least we can do is justify these actions, and at the same time criticize the referees when the decisions have been very correct. This is football, Dad.
