Real Madrid and Ancelotti fume as referee fails to send off “ugly” match-winner

Carlos Romero scored the only goal as Madrid lost to Espanyol but could easily have received a red card for a foul on Kylian Mbappé.

Real Madrid have slipped up in the race for the LaLiga title in controversial circumstances, losing away to struggling Espanyol in Barcelona. Carlos Romero scored the winning goal for the Catalans in the 85th minute having been incredibly fortunate to avoid a red card for a foul on Kylian Mbappé on the hour mark.

Mbappé was racing away on the counterattack when Romero scythed him down near the halfway line, halting a promising break forward. The Espanyol left-back committed a clear tactical foul with no intention of getting the ball, and also appeared to rake his studs down the Madrid star’s leg.

Referee Alejandro Muñiz Ruiz brandished a yellow card but was not called over to review the incident further by the VAR, which raised plenty of eyebrows.

To add insult to injury for Los Blancos, Romero went on to score the winning goal with five minutes to play.

The defender admitted in a postgame interview that his tackle on Mbappé had been “a bit ugly” and that he had apologized to the Frenchman.

Immediately after the incident, former LaLiga referee Eduardo Iturralde González, speaking on Spanish radio program “Carrusel Deportivo” called the challenge a “red, a dark red, even redder than that” and “one of the worst tackles I’ve seen in recent years”.

In his post-match press conference, Ancelotti was furious at how Romero had managed to avoid being sent off.

“That foul…the decision they made is inexplicable. The referee, the VAR…everybody saw it. The most important thing is to keep an eye on that kind of thing and protect the player. It was a clear foul, a really ugly tackle. Luckily, nothing happened but there was the risk of an injury.

“That’s what VAR is for. We find it inexplicable that he didn’t show a red card.”

As a result of the defeat, LaLiga leaders Madrid are now just a point clear of Atlético Madrid, who they play against at the Bernabéu next Saturday (February 8).