Real Madrid qualified for the semi-finals of the Copa del Reyat the cost of a 3-1 derby loss for Atlético Madrid. After a red card in extra time, Atlético handed over the game. Atlético coach Diego Simeone was not pleased with the arbitration after the game.
With the score 1-1, Stefan Savic received two yellow cards within two minutes, allowing him to leave. Simeone wondered aloud why Real Madrid midfielder Dani Ceballos didn’t also get his second yellow card. “That’s a key moment in the game and nobody seems to care,” he said at the press conference afterwards.
With Atlético leading 1-0, Ceballos knocked down Thomas Lemar on the edge of the box, but the referee did not give him his second yellow card. “If Savic’s foul is yellow, Ceballos should have been off too.”
Simeone also got into a fight with referee Cesar Soto Grado during the match. “I asked the referee if he had a personal problem with Morata because he didn’t blow the whistle once for a foul. If he really has something against him, I’d like to hear it, because then next time I won’t use him again,” Cholo revealed.
Expectations around Memphis Depay are high, both for himself and for his new club. He added, “We’re going to get Memphis back to its best shape.”
Former footballer and spokesman for Atlético Madrid Tomás Renones took it a step further. The Argentine mentioned, “Of course Ceballos should have been sent off, but we are used to this by now. We can all make mistakes, but it would be nice if it fell our way for once. We leave here with a lot of anger.”
Reaction to racism against Vinicius
After the red card, Real Madrid scored twice more, winning the match. Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti thought Savic’s red card was justified, but did not want to comment on Ceballos’ moment. The manager said, “I was too far away, so I really wouldn’t know if he should have had his second yellow card there.”
Vinícius Junior was the victim. The Brazilian was already the target of racist chants from the Atlético fans in the earlier derby. Now a doll with a shirt of the attacker has been hung at a bridge at Valdebebas, the training complex of Real Madrid.
Real Madrid reacted with outrage at the, “regrettable and abhorrent act of racism, xenophobia and hatred against our player Vinícius. We strongly condemn these acts, which are an attack on fundamental rights and human dignity. This has nothing to do with the values that football and sport represent. Attacks like those on our player, or on any athlete for that matter, have no place in our society.”
