Atlético Madrid have expressed strong objections to the refereeing decisions in their recent matches, as the club believes it has been the victim of refereeing injustices both in the recent derby against Real Madrid and in the current fixture against Barcelona.
According to the Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo, referee Mateu Busquets Ferrer had shown Barcelona’s Gerard Martin a red card during the match, but the VAR officials called him over to review the incident.
The newspaper noted that referee Mario Millero intervened by expressing his personal opinion on the play, which he was not entitled to do, prompting the referee to reverse his decision and settle for a yellow card for Martín.
This decision angered Atlético, particularly given a similar incident a few weeks earlier in which the Referees’ Committee had confirmed that the offence warranted a sending-off.
On Sunday evening, Miguel Ángel Gil Marín, CEO of Atlético Madrid, harshly criticised the use of video technology, saying: “When we watch the images and listen to the audio recordings shared by the Spanish Football Federation, we cannot help but feel ashamed.”
On Monday morning, Atlético Madrid posted a new message on its official accounts, accompanied by a photo of Gerard Martín’s heavy challenge on Tiago Almada, which read: “April has begun just as March ended… awaiting episode 27 of the Spanish Football Federation and Referees’ Committee’s ‘Review Time’ programme.”
The Referees’ Committee is expected to announce its verdict on the validity of the decision tomorrow, Tuesday, amid predictions from retired referee Estrada Fernández that the committee will rule that Gerard Martín should have been shown a red card.
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