Real Madrid have been at the heart of refereeing controversy of late, and it did not take long for them to return to the headlines against Las Palmas. Now footage has emerged that has left Las Palmas fans questioning the course of the match.
Rodrygo hit out at Las Palmas goalkeeper Alvaro Valles after the latter pushed him, and received a yellow card, while Dani Ceballos would escape VAR intervention for standing on an opposition player too.
DAZN have released footage from the tunnel where referee Cesar Soto Grado allegedly tells the Real Madrid players the Brazilian should have been sent off.
Soto Grado: “It’s clear as day, it’s a red.”
Nacho Fernandez: “But that’s because… but… How can it be a red?”
Carlo Ancelotti: “All good?”
Soto Grado: “All good!”
"It's a clear red."
Referee Cesar Soto Grado allegedly tells Nacho and the other Real Madrid players that Rodrygo Goes' hit out at Alvaro Valles is a dismissable offence.
The Referee's Committee deny this to be the case.pic.twitter.com/ObmSTW1Zf9
— Football España (@footballespana_) January 29, 2024
Nacho: “How can it be a red?”
Dani Carvajal: “He get provoked but it’s the goalkeeper that pushes him first.”
Soto Grado: “What use is it to say ‘the other guy is on the line’?”
Carvajal: “Yes but it’s the other guy that starts the conflict no?”
Soto Grado: “Yes.”
IMAGEN #Super8 🔊 "Clarísima, es roja"
La conversación de Soto Grado con los jugadores del Real Madrid sobre la acción de Rodrygo con Álvaro Valles #Super8 pic.twitter.com/UGu7bYrWdf
— DAZN España (@DAZN_ES) January 29, 2024
As per Diario AS, the Technical Committee for Referees have denied this, releasing a statement in the process.
“What Cesar Soto Grado says, in response to the assessment of a Real Madrid player, is: ‘if it were the other way around, you would say it was a very clear red’. We invite the players from both clubs present in the conversation to confirm, in honour of the truth, the correct version. The CTA regrets a new manoeuver with the sole purpose of putting the refereeing establishment in the crosshairs and once again calls on all the active parties of football to carry out an exercise of reflection on how officials are treated.”
This comes of course amid a highly controversial win for Real Madrid against Almeria, leading to a 3-2 comeback for Los Blancos. Meanwhile the Negreira Case rumbles on in the background with Barcelona accused of bribery and sporting corruption.
