The controversy at Di Stéfano: a red, a penalty not called, another yes, a goal that had to be canceled …

Eder Militao was expelled in the 8th minute of the game after knocking down Sergio León when he was alone in front of the goalkeeper. In the first instance, Medié Jiménez did not consider that the granota striker was left with a clear and manifest opportunity and he only admonished the Brazilian soccer player with yellow cardboard.

Nevertheless, Cuadra Fernández, from the VAR, warned the referee that the action was not as he had seen it and told him to go to the screen to check if it was expulsion. After that, he corrected his initial decision, annulled Militao's yellow card and he took the red one. The Brazilian will miss the next match against Huesca at El Alcoraz.

Iturralde González, referee of the Carousel Deportivo of Cadena SER and AS, explained the play live: “It's red. No doubt. It is very clear. There is no need to see it. Militao does not want to be necessary. The Levante player takes it out. It doesn't have to be always wanting a foul. Militao cannot stop. The referee is caught almost in the center of the field. The assistant should have helped him. You may consider that a Madrid player has arrived. The assistant sees it perfect. He asks if it is inside or outside, because if it is inside it will surely only be yellow. “

He should have annulled Madrid's goal and whistled a penalty

Four minutes after Militao's expulsion, Marco Asensio took advantage of a Real Madrid counterattack to overtake his own. Before the kickoff, the play was under review, not because of a possible offside, but because of a possible penalty committed in Courtois' area in the same action. The play was protested by the granotas after an elbow from Mendy to Melero.

Iturralde was clear about the play on the radio, despite the fact that neither Medié Jiménez from the field nor Cuadra Fernández in the VAR considered it to give the maximum penalty. This is how the Carousel referee analyzed it: “It's a penalty. For the VAR referee it is not a penalty, but it is clear and the goal must be annulled. At the beginning of the play it happens“.

Vinicius foul inside the area

Already in the second half, Thibaut Courtois saved Real Madrid after a fantastic save to Roger, who missed from the penalty spot. The play was highly protested by local players and even by those who were not called up from the stands, who demanded that the referee watch the play on the screen. Of first, the referee whistled a foul just on the edge of Vinicius's area on Clerc. However, Cuadra Fernández told him through the earpiece that it had not been outside, but inside. In this case, as Iturralde explained in the SER, it is not necessary to go to look at the monitor, since it is not interpretable, but something that is seen directly in the image.