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Mayhem in Madrid: Atletico Madrid win a heated Madrid derby as refereeing controversy overshadows a classic
Atletico Madrid earned the bragging rights of the Madrid derby, and it delivered exactly what the fixture promised: high intensity and drama.
Atletico emerged 2-1 winners against their arch rivals Real Madrid at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano on Sunday, but the game will be talked about for its controversial moments for a long time.
Alejandro Grimaldo’s penalty and Jonathan David’s second-half goal turned a cagey contest into a controlled one, earning massive three points in the title race for La Liga.
Antonio Rüdiger’s late header gave Real Madrid hope, but being down to ten men proved to be fatal for the visitors.
Atlético moved to second in LaLiga with 16 points, one ahead of Real Madrid and five points behind leaders FC Barcelona.
The first half was quite physical, but one of the most controversial moments of the game came in the 35th minute when Cristian Romero appeared to stamp on Jude Bellingham’s knee. Bellingham had initially been booked, but VAR intervened after the referee, Miguel Ángel Ortiz Arias, was sent to the monitor to check for a possible red.
After the check was completed, the yellow card was subsequently transferred to Romero, while the Real Madrid players argued that the Argentine defender should've been sent off.
Another controversial moment followed shortly before half-time.
Lee Kang-in caught Federico Valverde on the ankle with his studs, but no card was shown when it should've been red as per the rules of the game.
According to Spain’s Technical Committee of Referees, the challenge should have resulted in a red card.
However, VAR did not intervene at the time, and the Korean escaped unpunished. The game-changing moment arrived when, early in the second half, Dean Huijsen brought down Giuliano Simeone inside the penalty area.
Ortiz Arias initially showed the Real Madrid defender a yellow card, but another VAR review sent him to the pitchside monitor to review for a possible penalty check.
However, this time, the referee upgraded the punishment to a straight red and awarded Atlético a penalty. Grimaldo converted in the 53rd minute.
The Madrid derby wasn't the only game where such controversial decisions were made by the match officials.
LaLiga has increasingly found itself under scrutiny over the consistency of refereeing and VAR interventions, and this match provided another example of how different incidents can receive seemingly different treatment, as Atletico escaped unpunished on two occasions.
Real Madrid TV publicly criticised Ortiz Arias, while the boss José Mourinho displayed images of the Romero and Lee challenges in his post-match press conference.
However, that does not erase Atlético’s performance on the night.
They were disciplined and exploited the right side through Giuliano Simeone, who was phenomenal and created the constant attacking threat once Madrid went down to ten men.
Real Madrid didn't perform at their best, but the game left an uncomfortable situation hanging over match officiating in Spanish football as two similar challenges produced such different reactions from the referee.
At the Metropolitano, Atlético got all the points, but Real Madrid will rue their missed chances, and the controversial moments may last for some time now.
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