Real Madrid TV launched an unusual attack on the refereeing team after the club’s hard-fought 2-1 away win against Alavés last night, claiming that the decision not to award a penalty to their player Vinicius Junior “was not human error.”
The Brazilian winger Vinicius went down in the Alavés penalty area following minimal contact with defender Nahuel Tenaglia in the closing minutes of the match in Vitoria. When he was substituted a minute later, he was seen saying, “They don’t give it because it’s me.”
The central figure in this incident has a history with Real Madrid. The VAR referee against Alavés was Pablo González Fuertes, who had criticized Real Madrid TV’s campaign against the standard of Spanish refereeing before last season’s Copa del Rey final in April.
With González Fuertes back in charge of VAR last night, a problem seemed inevitable, and it came to light two minutes before the end of the match when the referee in charge, García Verdura, failed to consult the monitor to review his initial decision that there was no foul. Despite this, Real Madrid won the match 2-1, with Vinicius Junior setting up the decisive goal for his Brazilian teammate Rodrygo in the 76th minute.
Coach Xabi Alonso, who avoided being sacked thanks to this victory, said he was “not surprised” that the incident didn’t result in a penalty, while Real Madrid players refused to appear in the mixed zone in protest.
Real Madrid TV went a step further, pointing out that García Verdura is Catalan, the region of arch-rivals Barcelona, before highlighting the ongoing “Negrera” controversy. Fran Soto, the current head of the referees’ committee, also came under heavy criticism.
Real Madrid TV claimed: “Fran Soto says we should forget about the Negrera incident. This is the dirty La Liga of Negrera. Real Madrid competes with its hands tied and has to play very well to compete. It’s a daily occurrence. It’s unbelievable.”
The discussion then turned to analyst Miguel Angel Muñoz from Real Madrid TV, who called for Gonzalez Fuertes’ refereeing license to be revoked, saying, “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen what happened today. What a despicable referee! Garcia should have awarded the penalty immediately because there was no doubt about it. They have been harming Real Madrid ruthlessly since the beginning of the season. Gonzalez Fuertes has once again fulfilled his promise to hurt Real Madrid.”
