Anger over the penalty referee Munuera Montero handed Kylian Mbappé during Real Madrid's clash with Racing Santander has rumbled on, with a number of analysts branding it a wrong call. They agreed, though, that it was always going to be difficult to overturn once the whistle had gone.
Cadena COPE led the charge, airing the verdict of their refereeing expert Pedro Martín. He questioned the decision outright, insisting the contact on the French forward inside the box fell well short of a penalty.
Mbappé had gone down after slight contact with the Racing defender. Munuera Montero pointed to the spot, and the French star tucked away the penalty to put Real Madrid ahead.
Martín said he understood why the referee gave it, given the sort of player on the end of the contact, but he does not see the incident as worthy of punishing the hosts with a penalty. "If a player like him jumps, he is looking for trouble," he said.
For all his criticism, the refereeing expert accepted that once the referee had spotted contact, however minor, and chosen to blow, it becomes hard to go back on the call. "The referee saw slight contact and blew the whistle. That's it, he got it wrong," he added.
Martín's take throws another voice into the storm around the penalty. The criticism of Munuera Montero keeps growing, with more than one analyst convinced the contact on Mbappé never warranted a foul.