Getafe were not happy with referee Jorge Figueroa Vazquez during their match against Rayo Vallecano on Tuesday anyway, having had Juanmi Latasa sent off for two yellow cards already. By the time he had whipped out a straight red for Mason Greenwood, the plot was well and truly lost.
The Manchester United loanee was trying to escape two Rayo defenders in the second half, when he was fouled twice, but Figueroa did not blow up. Greenwood expressed his frustration loudly towards the referee, and subsequently received a red for dissent.
In the match report, Figueroa noted that Greenwood had told him to ‘F*** off’ in English, and hence was dismissed. This version of events has been disputed by Getafe, and defender Juan Iglesias is betting his own money that nobody can find proof of him doing so.
"If someone finds a video where you see that he says 'f*** you', I'll buy them a seafood platter 🤐"#GetafeCF defender Juan Iglesias has implied that referee Jorge Figueroa Vazquez lied in his match report about Mason Greenwood's red card. #MUFC https://t.co/Sc2ao0YKP7
— Football España (@footballespana_) January 3, 2024
Manager Jose Bordalas also disagreed with the referee after the match, telling a different story.
“He doesn’t speak Spanish that well. He told me that he said ‘No me jodas‘. He (the referee) had not whistled for the fouls that were being made against him from a few meters away. It’s frustration, he hasn’t insulted anyone. It’s a comment saying ‘no I can’t believe it, you haven’t given that’. I think everything has been exaggerated and everything was very over the top, even the sending off of Latasa.”
The expression used by Bordalas literally translates as ‘Don’t f*** with me’, but can be better interpreted as ‘You’re f****** kidding me’. It is not clear whether Greenwood actually said the expression in Spanish, or perhaps more likely ‘F*** me’ in English.
The incident has also been compared unfavourably in Spain with Jude Bellingham, with his compatriot seen telling Pablo Gonzalez Fuertes to ‘F*** you’ on multiple occasions during Real Madrid’s 2-0 win over Granada last month, but escaped any punishment.
