Diego Simeone, the Atlético Madrid manager, believes the referee failed to send off Barcelona’s Gerard Martín during the match between the two sides, which took place on Sunday evening in La Liga.
Atlético Madrid lost 2-1 to visitors Barcelona at the Metropolitano Stadium, ahead of the two sides’ rematch on Wednesday at the Camp Nou in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals.
The start of the second half saw a controversial refereeing incident, as Spanish referee Mateu Bosch showed Gerard Martin a red card for a heavy challenge on Atlético’s Tiago Almada in midfield, but he reversed his decision after consulting VAR, settling for a yellow card instead.
The incident sparked strong protests from Atlético manager Diego Simeone, who had initially celebrated the decision – as the sides were level following Nicolás González’s sending-off at the end of the first half – before exploding with anger at the subsequent reversal.
When Barcelona manager Hansi Flick was asked about the incident at the press conference, he said, “The challenge didn’t warrant a red card… In my view, Gerard touched the ball and there was no foul to begin with.”
But Simeone had a different view. When asked at the press conference whether Martin should have been sent off, he explained: “I was told and I saw a previous incident in the Betis v Rayo match, and the referees’ committee later confirmed that it warranted a sending-off. There’s not much to say; the footage is clear. He was late with his challenge, stepped on the foot and ankle, and we must wait for the committee’s explanation so that things are clear in future.”
In further comments to DAZN, he said, “I’d rather not talk about it. What we say won’t change anything. Let’s not waste time; let’s talk about useful things. Everyone will express their opinion… and when the incident is this clear, there’s no need for words.”
When asked to what extent Martin not being sent off had affected the game, the Argentine manager replied “We can talk about two different halves. In the first half we performed very well, with chances for both teams, good pressing and build-up play, then came the sending-off, which was correct in Nico’s case. We clung to the possibility of offside, but VAR cannot intervene in the case of a second yellow card.”
He added, “As for the second half, it was a completely different game. We defended as best we could, but we weren’t able to attack as we’d hoped, and in the end we conceded a goal from a rebound. Perhaps, given all that effort, we deserved a draw.”
Nevertheless, Simeone insisted that his team “were not wronged”, noting, “Mistakes are part of the game; we make them too, as coaches and players. In the Betis v Rayo match, it was said that the same incident warranted a sending-off, and here too it was clear. Did they see it or not? Yes, they saw it.”
Regarding the sending-off of Atlético Madrid’s Nico González for fouling Lamine Yamal, Simeone revealed, “The referee told me it was two yellow cards, and therefore a sending-off, and he was right. When the second yellow card is clear, there’s no need to discuss it.”
However, the referee consulted VAR and showed the player a straight red card instead of a second yellow. On this, he said, “I don’t know, he saw a yellow card and then another, and therefore a red card. We were walking together and he told me it was two yellow cards.”
Simeone continued: “From his first challenge, it was clear it was at least a yellow card, and therefore a sending-off. The incident was clear; I don’t think it warranted a straight red, but it did warrant a sending-off with the second card. He played a good game apart from that incident. I’m happy with his performance, and I don’t see it as a straight red card. The challenges were clear, both this one and the ones that happened in the second half.”