Real Madrid’s coach sparks controversy with ambiguous remarks
Álvaro Arbeloa, Real Madrid’s coach, sparked controversy about refereeing after giving an ambiguous answer to a question about rivals Barcelona’s complaints.
Barcelona’s match against Atlético Madrid, played on Wednesday evening in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals, featured contentious refereeing incidents. The capital side won 2–0 ahead of the return leg at home next Tuesday.
Barcelona’s players and their coach, Hans Flick, were surprised that a penalty was not awarded despite Marc Pubill handling the ball, and they also protested the red card shown to Pau Cubarsí.
Flick said after the match: “I think there are many situations—for example, the situation where their player handled the ball (inside the penalty area) and the referee didn’t whistle anything. For me it’s very clear. I don’t know why VAR didn’t intervene!”
When asked about Barcelona’s complaints regarding the Pubill incident, Arbeloa said in a press conference on Thursday morning ahead of Friday’s La Liga match against Girona: “I don’t want to get into such evaluations. We saw what happened at the end of last week and what has continued to happen for many weeks.”
He added: “My opinion is clear and I stand by it—what I see week after week.”
Asked whether he sees that refereeing performances for Real Madrid and Barcelona differ in Europe compared to La Liga, Arbeloa replied: “Everyone knows my opinion about what has happened for years and is still happening. I won’t change my opinion.”
On whether he doubts Spain’s refereeing system, he explained: “It’s not about trust or lack of it; it’s about what we see.”
He continued: “What happened on Tuesday with (Kylian) Mbappé’s tackle—it’s hard to understand how it wasn’t a red card. It happens even with video technology, which was thought would solve many problems.”
The coach added: “In Spain we are still waiting for an explanation, and that needs to be fixed. There are many doubts about such decisions. Sometimes VAR intervenes and sometimes it doesn’t. I try to focus on my work as a coach.”
Arbeloa is referring to Jonathan Tah’s tackle on Mbappé in the second half of the two teams’ match, which was held at the “Santiago Bernabéu” in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals and was decided by the Bavarian side with a 2-1 win.