Real Madrid's Controversial Victory Sparks Debate in Spanish Football

2024-03-02 22:44:27

Real Madrid managed to overcome a 2-2 deficit against Valencia, but a controversial decision by referee Gil Manzano in the last action of the match generated a new storm in Spanish football.

With the discount completed, Bellingham scored with a header to make it 3-2, but the referee pointed out that the goal had been out of time, which caused a new storm, with the English star receiving a red card for his protests.

WHAT HE GOT INTO 😬

Gil Manzano finished the match the moment Brahim lifted the center. At least that’s where I hear the first whistle. The referee can end the game whenever he pleases, but you also have to have common sense. No?pic.twitter.com/OBpQsIxM4o

— The VAR Central (Andrés) (@ElVarCentral) March 2, 2024

Real Madrid remains the leader of the League, with seven points ahead of Girona (2nd), which visits Mallorca (16th) on Sunday.

All eyes were on Vinicius and the Brazilian star did not disappoint. He scored two instinctive goals (45 + 5 and 76) that allowed Hugo Duro (27) and Roman Yaremchuk (30) to overcome the goals. But he also had an intense battle with the stands.

After his first goal he raised his right fist addressing the stands and after signing the second he multiplied his gestures, including covering his ears with his hands.

The match had a great emotional charge, beginning with a spectacular minute of silence for the ten who died in the terrifying fire that devoured a residential building in a neighborhood of Valencia on February 22.

A hot match between Valencia and Real Madrid

Once it started, there were too many pending accounts and sparks quickly flew. Local captain Gayá and Brazilian Rodrygo began hostilities with an exchange of blows.

Nothing happened in the game until almost half an hour into the game. Then Valencia knew how to transform their overexcitement into goals, taking advantage of Real Madrid’s lack of intensity.

Hugo Duro opened the scoring with a header of pure instinct after a semi-miss center by Fran Pérez. Yaremchuk increased the difference after Dani Carvajal made a mistake in a pass towards goalkeeper Andriy Lunin. On the brink of half-time Vinicius finished off the goal to close the gap.

In the second half the goalkeepers had their moments of glory. In the 54th minute Jude Bellingham burst into the area and after a definitive dribble his shot from point-blank range was kicked out by the local Giorgi Mamardashvili. Six minutes later it was Lunin who saved the white team with a miraculous start against Diego López.

Then came Vinicius’s equalizer, with a header after a Brahim cross. The end of the match was marred by the serious injury of Mouctar Diakhaby (86), who fell on Aurélien Tchouaméni. He left on a stretcher with the players of both teams, showing his desolation at the Frenchman’s bad luck.

At the end of the match, Bellingham’s action occurred, which reignited the controversy in Spain and recalled what happened in the 2008-I League final in Colombia, between América and Boyacá Chicó in Cali, when referee Wílmar Roldán finished the first match in full attacking action for the visitor that had ended in a goal by Anuar Guerrero.