Refereeing controversy engulfed Real Madrid's ninth-round meeting with Sevilla after Arda Guler aimed an elbow at Peque Fernandez in the 24th minute. Should the Turkey international have walked? Five minutes later, he opened the scoring.
Peque Fernandez had tugged Guler's shirt during one of Real Madrid's counter-attacks. Guler responded with an elbow that put his opponent on the deck, and the video assistant referee stepped in to check whether a red card was warranted.
Nearly three minutes of deliberation followed. No red card. Play restarted without Guler picking up so much as a yellow, leaving plenty asking whether the elbow crossed the line into violent conduct.
Then came the goal. Guler put Real Madrid ahead in the 29th minute, five minutes after the flashpoint, and the arguments only grew louder, with opinion split over whether he should have been off the pitch at all.
