A specialized refereeing opinion responded to the objections of Álvaro Arbeloa, Real Madrid coach, regarding a controversial incident involving Kylian Mbappé in the match against Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League.
The Royal team lost to its guest Bayern Munich 1-2 on Tuesday evening in the first leg of the quarter-finals of the continental tournament, with the second leg set to be played in the city of Munich next Wednesday.
In the most controversial moment of the match, Jonathan Tah, the Bavarians’ defender, made a harsh challenge on Mbappé, while English referee Michael Oliver was satisfied with showing a yellow card.
Arbeloa said in the post-match press conference, “I don’t understand how the Bayern Munich player wasn’t sent off for the foul he committed against Mbappé. These are decisions that are hard to understand.”
For its part, the Spanish refereeing-specialist network Archivo Var commented on the incident, indicating that the referee made the correct decision.
In its analysis of Oliver’s performance in the match, it stated: “This play is probably the most controversial in the match: a challenge from behind by Tah on Mbappé. The Bayern defender made contact with the front of his boot on the French striker’s leg (the calf area), causing a clear scrape that even led to a tear in the sock.”
It added: “The incident looks violent visually, but the assessment should focus on the nature of the contact.”
It continued: “There is no direct contact with the sole of the foot and no excessive force, but rather merely superficial contact (a scrape). It’s a borderline incident and falls within discretionary cases.”
According to the network, if the referee had shown a red card directly, VAR would not have intervened; but with only a yellow card, it cannot intervene either, because there is no clear and obvious error.
The network concluded its comment on the incident by saying: “It is a ‘gray’ case that was handled correctly from a refereeing standpoint.”
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Did Olise deserve a penalty kick?
In another controversial moment in the final minutes of the match, Michael Olise called for a penalty after a challenge from Carreras.
The ball arrived high, so the Bayern attacker dropped back to try to control it, while the Real Madrid defender moved toward the same spot; their paths crossed and contact occurred.
Archivo Var explained: “The essence of the incident lies here: Carreras did not charge toward Olise; rather, the two players met in the same space. Olise dropped back, and Carreras stepped forward, which led to their paths converging and the contact.”
It added: “There is contact, but it does not rise to the level of a clear foul that would require the referee’s intervention. Once again, this is a ‘gray’ situation: awarding a penalty would not have been an exaggerated decision, but not awarding it is also a defensible decision, and therefore there is no room for VAR intervention.”
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