In the 23rd minute, Güler swung his elbow backwards during a running duel with Peque Fernandez. Sevilla's number ten went down holding his face and briefly needed treatment. Güler avoided a booking, while Dean Huijsen and Felix each received a yellow card for their subsequent actions. Seven minutes later, Güler scored a spectacular goal to put the hosts 1-0 up.
Sevilla also protested over an alleged foul by Ibrahima Konate on Robbie Ure in the build-up to Kylian Mbappe's goal, the second they conceded. Television showed no replay of the incident.
On their club website, Sevilla attacked referee Mateo Busquets Ferrer's officiating. "4-1: An elbow and that was that," the club wrote in their post-match headline. Referring to the unpunished challenge on Ure, they added: "A picture is worth a thousand words."
Coach Luis Garcia Plaza devoted almost his entire press conference to the referee's decisions. He called Güler's action a "clear red card" and said: "It is a completely different game that has to be played from the moment of the elbow. They may be better eleven against eleven, but we were denied the chance to play a different game."
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Sevilla coach lashes out at Real, Barcelona and Atletico
For Plaza, the alleged offence against striker Ure was also a clear wrong decision: "The referee did not have a good day. They did not let us play. Today we should have been playing with a numerical advantage from the 23rd minute. Those who complain the most have the least reason to: Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid. I have been in this business a long time and it is always the same story."
His comments appeared to refer to the recently renewed escalation of the row between LaLiga boss Javier Tebas and Real Madrid, who repeatedly feel disadvantaged by referees in league matches and have called for a complete overhaul and Tebas's resignation.
The players were disappointed too. Full-back Juan Iglesias told Movistar: "We were in the game and gave everything. I saw a foul on Peque that looked like an assault to me, and there was also a foul on Ruben Vargas before one of Real Madrid's goals, but that incident was not even shown on television."
Iglesias continued: "There were decisions we had no control over. Often you cannot speak to the referees; they do not allow it. It is simply, 'Get out of here or I'll give you a card.' That is always the easiest solution. We knew how things would go here."
Pointing to the elbow, captain Kike Salas said: "Arda Güler's foul was clear. You can see the elbow Peque took. That clearly swung the game in their favour, and then it was 1-0."
Getty Images"Obsession": Jose Mourinho dismisses Sevilla's criticism
Salas also questioned why VAR did not intervene: "I do not understand why this incident was not reviewed. We ask for nothing more than respect and for what happened to be acknowledged. We are disappointed, but you can also see a foul on Ruben Vargas."
Rather than dwell on the incidents, Real coach Jose Mourinho played them down and said he did not understand "the obsession with so many questions about this story".
Mourinho explained: "Nobody could show me what supposedly happened. I have not seen a single image. I asked my analysts and the television for pictures, but I could not see any of the things being talked about that bothered Luis."
For Mourinho, it is "the natural course of things that the opposite will happen to us more often". The coach continued: "If one day something happens that I think has favoured us, I will have no problem admitting it."