A war of words erupted between Sevilla manager Luis García Plaza and Real Madrid head coach José Mourinho, after the former launched a scathing attack on refereeing decisions following their match, drawing a sarcastic response from the Portuguese tactician.
The remarks followed Real Madrid’s 4-1 home victory over their Andalusian guests on Sunday evening in the ninth round of La Liga—a comfortable margin that failed to quell the controversy surrounding a first-half incident.
Sevilla’s grievances centered on an off-the-ball clash between Arda Güler and Peque in the 25th minute while the score was still tied at 0-0. Plaza argued that the Turkish player had struck his player and deserved a straight red card; instead, Güler remained on the pitch and went on to score the opening goal.
“Real Madrid deserved to win eleven against eleven, but we were deprived of playing a completely different match,” Plaza stated, emphasizing that playing with a numerical advantage from that point onward would have presented both teams with a different scenario, without necessarily guaranteeing a Sevilla victory.
Asked why VAR failed to intervene, he added: “Perhaps because if we had won, they would have headed into El Clásico nine points behind,” hinting at the potential impact of the result on Real Madrid’s title race with Barcelona.
He went on to criticize the refereeing complaints frequently voiced by La Liga’s powerhouses: “Those who complain the most are the ones who need to complain the least: Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Atlético,” contending that with so many cameras present, failing to review the incident was difficult to comprehend.
Mourinho fired back during his post-match press conference: “I haven’t seen any footage of what they claim happened,” explaining that he had asked performance analysts and TV broadcast staff for replays but was not provided with any clear image proving the incident that incensed his counterpart.
He then added sarcastically: “It is fantastic for a manager who concedes four goals to have the opportunity to talk about other things,” objecting to repeated questions about the incident and stressing that his entire focus during the match was on securing the three points.
The fallout from the controversy extends to El Clásico, as a red card for Güler would have put his participation against Barcelona in jeopardy depending on the length of his suspension. Meanwhile, Mourinho stressed that Wednesday’s Champions League fixture against RB Leipzig comes first, before turning his attention to Sunday’s marquee league showdown.
