RB Leipzig came close to levelling their clash with Real Madrid in the Champions League, but were unable to enjoy the extra time cigar as they converted just one of their 34 shots across the two legs. However they did have a stone in their shoe regarding the referee, feeling that Vinicius Junior got away with a sending off due to his reputation.
Just past the hour mark, Vinicius knocked Leipzig captain Willi Orban to the floor, and when the latter got up, he pushed him back down, putting two hands on his neck. Moments later, the Brazilian would fire Real Madrid’s winning goal. The RB Leizpig Twitter account was the first to express their surprise at the decision.
“Vinicius Junior unsportsmanlike grabs Willi #Orban by the neck with both hands.
The referee only punishes this with a yellow card… Interesting :).”
Vinicius Junior packt Willi #Orban unsportlich mit beiden Händen an den Hals.
Der Unparteiische bestraft das lediglich mit Gelb … 🟨
Interessant 🙂
⏱️ 54. Min.
⚪⚪ 0:0 🔴⚪#RMARBL #UCL— RB Leipzig (@RBLeipzig) March 6, 2024
After the match, Orban was naturally asked about the incident, and told Philipp Hinze that the referee simply didn’t have the stomach to take a big decision against Real Madrid.
“The referees don’t have the guts to send such players off. He grabs my neck with both hands. That’s disrespectful.”
RB-Kapitän Willi Orban bei uns am @SkySportAustria-Mikro: „Die Schiedsrichter haben nicht den Mumm, solche Spieler runterzustellen. Er greift mir mit beiden Händen an den Hals. Das ist respektlos.“ @SkySportDE #RMARBL pic.twitter.com/rJJdn5XpOl
— Philipp Hinze (@philipphinze24) March 6, 2024
Meanwhile left-back David Raum was also asked about it after the match, and confirmed that in his opinion, the referee held them to a different standard than their opponents.
“Even when he got booked, he should have already been off the pitch because he had a few tackles. The referee talked a little bit differently to us than the Real Madrid players, I don’t know why, we are also nice, funny guys.”
“He said in his opinion it is a red, we cannot talk about this now, because we are out and it will not help us. Also many Real Madrid players came to us at the end and said ‘Wow, we were a little bit lucky there’, when the Bernabeu is whistling, we know we did a lot of things well today,” he told Diario AS.
Real Madrid cried injustice at the weekend via their official channels, calling Jesus Gil Manzano’s decision to blow the whistle before Jude Bellingham scored against Valencia ‘unprecedented’. Ahead of the game, manager Carlo Ancelotti described the referees in European football as ‘better’, and on this occasion at least, the conclusion appears to be that Los Blancos benefitted from the referee- Even the likes of Real Madrid legend Pedja Mijatovic chastised Vinicius for his behaviour, admitting that he should have been sent off.
If we’re handing out straight red cards for a shove, I don’t know what this game is coming to. This isn’t basketball.