Yan Diomande of Real Madrid
Photo by Mateo Villalba Sanchez/Getty Images
The recent Madrid derby once again made headlines for its many controversies, including a couple of questionable refereeing calls that completely sided with Atletico Madrid.
Perhaps the biggest of them all was Kang-in Lee’s challenge on Federico Valverde, which left the Real Madrid midfielder pick up an injury that will keep him out for a few weeks.
Lee’s challenge was blatant and dangerous and in any other day, the Atletico Madrid player could have easily gotten a red card. That was not the case here.
Kang-In should have been sent off
Now, according to the Technical Committee of Referees (CTA), Kang-In Lee should indeed have been dismissed for the dangerous challenge on Valverde just before half-time, reports AS.
“Kang-In Lee is launching to cut a preview of Fede Valverde. It impacts with the cleats on the leg with joint twisting and high risk of injury.
Federico Valverde of Real Madrid
Lee’s challenge left Valverde injured. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)
“Direct free kick and red card. Clear and manifest error of the referee. The VAR should have intervened,” the CTA confirmed.
It represents a notable admission of fault, with the officials acknowledging that both referee Ortiz Arias and the VAR failed to correctly punish an action deemed serious foul play.
Had Kang-In been dismissed, the complexion of the derby could have been very different, and Real Madrid would not have lost Valverde to injury in the process.
The Cuti Romero decision defended
However, the CTA stood firm on another contentious incident involving Cristian Romero and Jude Bellingham, insisting the yellow card shown was correct.
Jude Bellingham, Real Madrid player
Romero was involved in a spat with Bellingham. (Photo by Florencia Tan Jun/Getty Images)
Initially, Ortiz Arias had awarded a foul against Bellingham, before the VAR intervened to flag an identity error and switch the decision. Real Madrid had claimed the challenge warranted a red card, but the Committee disagreed.
“Cuti Romero, after playing the ball, steps on Bellingham’s leg. There is an intensity with high interpretive load. The stomp is produced in the same incident assessed by the referee.
“On the monitor he evaluates the stomp as a reckless one,” the Committee explained, concluding: “It’s direct free kick and yellow card. The VAR was right to intervene.”
The CTA also backed the decision to send off Real Madrid’s Dean Huijsen and award Atletico a penalty, ruling that Giuliano Simeone had the position won before being fouled.
For Real Madrid, the admission over Kang-In offers little consolation given the result already stands, and with Valverde now sidelined, the frustration at the Bernabeu will only grow.
La Liga chief Tebas hits back at Real Madrid as feud escalates: ‘Respect for all. Subordination to none’
Javier Tebas, La Liga president
Photo by Miguel Tovar/Getty Images
La Liga president Javier Tebas has responded to Real Madrid’s criticism with another strongly worded statement, defending his position on refereeing complaints and rejecting the club’s call for greater neutrality from him.
This comes only two hours after Real Madrid published an official statement lashing out at Tebas, and even calling for a change of leadership.
In their statement, Real Madrid described Tebas’ comments about their refereeing complaints as “serious and incomprehensible” and “unbecoming of a responsible executive”.
Real Madrid had accused Tebas of repeatedly targeting the club and said his interventions were damaging the image of Spanish football.
The club also called for a leader capable of running the competition with an “elementary duty of neutrality”.
Tebas strikes back
In his full statement, Tebas began by agreeing with one point made by Real Madrid: the president of La Liga is not the owner of the competition. He immediately added that the same applies to Real Madrid’s president.
“I’ve read the statement. I fully agree with one phrase: the president of La Liga is not the owner of the competition. The president of Real Madrid isn’t either,” he started.
He leído el comunicado. Coincido plenamente en una frase: el presidente de LaLiga no es el dueño de la competición. El presidente del Real Madrid tampoco.
Representar a todos los clubes exige defender la igualdad y la equidad entre ellos. También cuando se sostiene que «LaLiga… https://t.co/ELFccrWbUg
— Javier Tebas Medrano (@Tebasjavier) September 22, 2026
Tebas also referred to statements claiming that LaLiga has little value without Real Madrid and that referees are harming the business that supports them.
He said Real Madrid’s response had not addressed those comments, which he described as the reason for his original intervention.
“Representing all the clubs requires defending equality and equity among them. Also when it’s claimed that ‘La Liga is worth nothing’ without Real Madrid or that referees harm ‘the business that feeds them.'”
“On those statements, which prompted my response, your statement doesn’t say a word.”
Further criticising Real Madrid’s position, he accused the club of trying to divert attention.
“Now they take cover in the fact that I responded to an “independent” journalist. But neither the narrative is new nor is the strategy of diverting attention from other problems.
“They’ve been doing it for years from Real Madrid TV and through their mouthpieces, talking and writing about a tampered League week after week.
“Don’t try to present as an external opinion the discourse they feed from their own television and from the club’s instances.”
Standing by his position
Tebas also addressed Real Madrid’s call for a LaLiga president who operates with “neutrality”, arguing that the club was confusing neutrality with independence.
“They demand that I contribute to generating trust in the impartiality of the competition. Precisely for that reason, I reject the narrative that referees are directed against Real Madrid,” he said.
Javier Tebas, La Liga president
Tebas has issued a strongly worded response to Real Madrid. (Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images for Soccerex)
Tebas said he rejected the suggestion that referees are deliberately acting against Real Madrid.
“Criticizing a refereeing decision is legitimate. Turning every detriment into proof of persecution is something else. Does that generate trust or damage the image of Spanish football? They confuse neutrality with independence.”
Tebas said that if neutrality means never taking a position on what is right or wrong, then he would effectively be expected to abandon part of his responsibility.
“If by neutrality they mean not taking sides on anything, not even between what’s right and what’s wrong, they’re asking me to renounce my responsibility.
“Independence requires deciding with one’s own judgment, without pressures or subordinations, applying the same rules to everyone and defending the common interest.
“That implies making decisions and taking positions, even if Real Madrid doesn’t like it.
“Representing everyone does not mean obeying the most powerful”
Tebas also directly addressed Real Madrid’s claim that his role should be to serve the interests of all the clubs.
“Defending a club’s interests doesn’t mean assuming its discourse. And representing everyone doesn’t mean obeying the most powerful either. The interests of the competition, of La Liga, must be defended,” he said.
Concluding, Tebas insisted that his responsibility is to defend the interests of the competition and La Liga as a whole.
“I’m neither the owner of La Liga nor will I manage it as if it belonged to a single club. Respect for all. Subordination to none.”