Hours after Real Madrid’s defeat on the pitch of Athletic Bilbao, the controversy continues to grow surrounding the VAR referee, Figueroa Vázquez. Guilty of a serious error on a foul on Rodrygo Goes in the 13th minute, the referee has been abandoned by his colleagues from the commission.
Real Madrid has just suffered its fifth defeat of the season. After three defeats in the Champions League and a first league loss to FC Barcelona on October 26th, Carlo Ancelotti’s team lost again in La Liga: this time to the Basques of Athletic Bilbao. Very uninspired in their play, the Madrid players failed to create many significant goal-scoring opportunities. However, things could have been different if the VAR referee, Figueroa Vázquez, had done his job properly.
The CTA’s anger against the VAR referee
Indeed, in an action well carried out in the 13th minute, Rodrygo Goes was fouled in the penalty area by Bilbao’s defender, Gorosabel. After a review, the referee behind the screens, who was supposed to assist the central referee Sánchez Martínez during the review of the action, made a gross error. According to revelations from Spanish referee media Archivo VAR, the Spanish refereeing commission is very angry with Figueroa for stating that the Basque defender had not touched the ball after fouling the Madrid attacker.
“Anger from the CTA against Figueroa Vázquez,” says Archivo VAR this Thursday, adding that “the Committee cannot understand why the Andalusian told Sánchez Martínez that Gorosabel ‘never touches the ball’, when the footage provided the proof instantly.” Guilty of this gross error, which deprived the Madrid side of an early penalty that could have changed the course of the match, the VAR referee has received a second warning from the refereeing commission.
For the referee, this is terrible news: for the second time this season, the CTA has reprimanded him for gross errors that change the course of matches. It is worth noting that after the first penalty was not awarded, Real Madrid had another very clear penalty, which was signalled. Unfortunately, Kylian Mbappé, who took it, missed once again.
Indeed, the wind was against Carlo Ancelotti’s men, who managed to equalise but then collapsed at the back due to a terrible error from Federico Valverde, one of the stalwarts of this team who never cheats. After the match, the number 8 apologised to the Madrid players. They will need to pick themselves up this Saturday in the 16th round of La Liga against Girona, who are no longer the dangerous team they were last season.
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