As usual, referee Gil Manzano has been controversial with his decisive decisions, and once again Real Madrid was his victim in the match against Real Sociedad in the fourth round of La Liga.
Real Madrid were leading 1-0 at Anoeta, but then a counterattack by the home side resulted in center-back Dejan Huijsen bringing down a Sociedad striker inside the halfway line.
It would have been logical in this case for Manzano to show a yellow card to Huijsen, but the surprise was his decision to show a red card, justifying it by stating that the Madrid defender was the last man on the pitch and was denying the Sociedad striker a clear goal.
Replays show that Manzano’s justification was completely incorrect. The truth is that Éder Militao was very close to the ball, and consequently, even if the striker had succeeded in overtaking Huijsen, he would have collided with the Brazilian. Thus, the red card for the 21-year-old was completely undeserved.
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Strangely, VAR upheld Manzano’s bizarre decision, and as a result, Real Madrid completed the away match with ten men from the 32nd minute, amidst the wrath of Xabi Alonso.
In general, this isn’t the first time referee Manzano has made bizarre decisions against Real Madrid. His final whistle against Valencia last season remains one of the most bizarre things to happen in La Liga, to the point that it led to his long suspension from refereeing.
