Atlético’s Penalty Prickles: A Night of Refereeing Ridiculousness
The defeat of Atlético de Madrid is causing ink to flow in Spain, where there is total incomprehension regarding the penalty awarded to LOSC, winner this Wednesday (1-3) in the capital.
Well, folks, grab your pens — or perhaps just your phones to tweet — because Spain is in a tizzy after LOSC rolled into the Estadio Metropolitano and handed Atlético Madrid a rather unceremonious defeat. You’d think that the referee had set fire to a Spanish tortilla by how hot under the collar everyone is about the penalty awarded to the visitors. I mean, I’ve seen less outrage at a bullfight when the bull wins!
Tension, Tension, and More Tension
The atmosphere inside the stadium was thicker than a footballer’s accent. Tension was palpable; you could almost slice it with a Spanish fan’s broken dreams. Diego Simeone, who had been shown a yellow card for his passionate protests — oh, Diego, have you ever met a referee you actually liked? — surely went home wondering if he could ever get a decent explanation as to why that penalty was whistled.
He roared at the press conference: “There’s nothing! Why is he whistling?! A hand? There isn’t any! Nobody touched the ball. I hope someone from UEFA finds out and explains to me why the referee was right.” Ah, Diego, if only UEFA had a hotline for such queries, like a footballing 911 for distressed managers!
Goalkeeping Gripe
And let’s not leave Jan Oblak hanging in the wind. The gregarious goalkeeper voiced his own bafflement in the mixed zone: “I don’t know what he whistled. He said there was a hand, but we don’t really know what he whistled. Nobody understands and I especially hope that he (the referee) understands it.” Okay, Jan, we get it! Referees leave most of us scratching our heads — probably not as much as your hairdresser does!
But kudos to Oblak for his lucid reality check: “But we can’t complain about this penalty because we had the opportunities to kill the match.” A rare moment of reason amidst the rage! Hear that noise? That’s the sound of a rational human being breaking through the melodrama of football. Applause!
The Spanish Media Unleashed
And let’s not forget about our beloved Spanish journalists. They descended upon the incident like vultures on a roadkill paella. Publications like Mark called the penalty “non-existent,” while another, AS, found it so laughable they might as well have put “Joke of the Century” on the front page! And it gets better — Spanish pundit Mateu Lahoz joined the fray, dropping bombs of wisdom like: “It’s a dark night for refereeing.” Is that an understatement or just the footballing equivalent of “It’s always darkest before the dawn?”
VAR – Victims of Abstract Reasoning?
It seems VAR was about as helpful as a chocolate teapot. Apparently, Lahoz noted, “the VAR referee had no experience, he didn’t have the opportunity, he wasn’t invited to see it”. Sounds like VAR was on a vacation while the game was going on — or maybe just really indecisive on Tinder! Can we log a complaint with the referee’s union, or is that just for the ‘cool kids’ who have their act together? Seriously!
“It’s a dark night for refereeing.”
Conclusion: A Lesson or a Laugh?
So, what have we learned, dear readers? Football — much like a bad haircut or an awkward first date — is often exasperating and slightly ridiculous. If nothing else, it gives us laughter, debates, and the occasional existential crisis. Atlético Madrid might have taken a hit this time, but the real loser? Marco Guida, a name we’ll all remember… along with a lot of confusion and a high-volume referee rant!
Let’s just hope the VAR team decides to attend the next match. Otherwise, who knows? We could be facing a penalty for merely showing up! Until then, keep your hands to yourself and your opinions loud!
The defeat of Atlético de Madrid is causing ink to flow in Spain, where there is total incomprehension regarding the penalty awarded to LOSC, winner this Wednesday (1-3) in the capital.
The climate was particularly tense this Wednesday, inside the Estadio Metropolitano, following the victory pocketed by LOSC (1-3) over Atlético de Madrid. This concerned the reception staff, the local press, as well as the players in the game. Diego Simeone, who had been sanctioned during the match (73′) by Marco Guida, referee of the match, made the team flinch, even tremble. all the journalists present at the press conference. Angry, he strongly criticized the decisions taken by the refereeing body and in particular the penalty awarded to the Mastiffs, sanction whose origin remains approximate : “There’s nothing!” Why is he whistling?! A hand? There isn’t any! Nobody touched the ball. I hope someone from UEFA finds out and explains to me why the referee was right.”he laughed in front of the media fond of bloodshed.
The Argentinian technician was not the only one to grind his teeth. His faithful goalkeeper, Jan Oblak, also expressed his annoyance a few minutes later, in the mixed zone: “I don’t know what he whistled. He said there was a hand, but we don’t really know what he whistled. Nobody understands and I especially hope that he (the referee) understands itmuttered the Slovenian, nevertheless lucid about the collective performance of the Colchoneros. But we can’t complain about this penalty because we had the opportunities to kill the match.”he concluded for his part.
“It’s a dark night for refereeing”
In Spain, our local colleagues are not kind to Marco Guida and the referees responsible for video assistance. On the other side of the Pyrenees, Mark denounces a penalty “non-existent” When AS evokes a real “joke” during this part. To go even further, Movistar had invited Mateu Lahoz to his set and he too, a veteran of the profession, remained smug: “It is possible that the referee makes a mistake and sees Koke’s hand. But VAR is a tool that should help. The VAR referee had no experience, he didn’t have the opportunity, he wasn’t invited to see it. It’s impossible to explain why he whistled. It’s a dark night for refereeing. VAR was introduced in football for matches like this. We have to try to understand what happened with his three teammates”he castigated at the small skylight.
