Sevilla have hit back at the refereeing after Arda Guler escaped punishment for an elbow during Sunday evening's clash with Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu, in the ninth round of the Spanish league.
Guler caught Sevilla's Peque Fernandez with his elbow in the 24th minute, and the incident triggered a storm over whether the Real Madrid man should have walked. Five minutes later, the Turk opened the scoring for Los Blancos.
It started with Peque Fernandez tugging Guler's shirt during a Real Madrid counter-attack. Guler swung an elbow that left his opponent on the floor, and the video assistant referee "VAR" went to work on whether a red card was warranted.
Nearly three minutes of checking followed. The referee waved away the red, play restarted, and Guler did not even collect a yellow. Sevilla were furious.
Instead, the referee booked Real Madrid defender Dean Huijsen and Sevilla's Felix Correia for squaring up while play was stopped.
Sevilla took to their official "X" account to mock the decision: "Guler's clear use of the elbow against Peque resulted in Huijsen and Felix receiving a yellow card."