19 October,2026 09:43 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Tempers flaired in the Real Madrid Sevilla game (Pic: AFP)
Real Madrid's 4-1 victory against Sevilla at the Santiago Bernabeu was once again shadowed by refereeing controversy. Sevilla expressed deep frustration after Madrid midfielder Arda Guler avoided a sending-off for an apparent elbow to an opponent's face while trying to break free. Just minutes after a brief VAR review declined to intervene, Guler scored Madrid's opening goal.
"Why didn't the VAR call the referee? Maybe because they don't go into the Clasico nine points behind." Sevilla coach Luis Garcia Plaza said.
The victory keeps Real Madrid six points behind league leaders Barcelona ahead of next week's crucial Clasico showdown. However, Madrid coach Jose Mourinho brushed aside claims that the Turkish midfielder should have been sent off.
"No one has managed to show me what they say happened. I haven't seen a single image," he said. "If one day something happens that I believe benefited us, I'll have no problem coming out and saying it, but I think the opposite is more likely to happen because it's the natural trend of things. If by Saturday someone sends me a clear and objective image of something I haven't seen, I'll address it. For now, nothing."
The refereeing debate unfolded against the backdrop of an escalating dispute between Real Madrid and Spanish league president Javier Tebas. Prior to kickoff, Madrid supporters voiced grievances over perceived officiating errors targeting their club. Madrid subsequently highlighted what it described as the "Bernabeu's outrage against" Tebas.
The friction intensified after Tebas publicly compared Real Madrid's tactics of criticising officials to propaganda methods used by Germany's Nazi regime. Following a scathing social media statement from Tebas on Friday targeting Real Madrid TV's referee coverage, the club and its fanbase formally called for the La Liga president's resignation. Tebas took to social media again on Sunday to respond after supporters displayed hostile banners against him during the match.
The first El Clasico of the 2026-27 La Liga season is scheduled for Sunday, October 25, 2026, and the second fixture is set for May 9, 2027.
(With inputs from PTI)
