La Liga chief Tebas: Real Madrid complaints valid, but Huijsen red was correct
Yahoo Sports
The short version
- Tebas said he understood Real Madrid's complaints about the derby officiating but not the methods used.
- He argued Real Madrid did not lose because of the disputed plays.
- Tebas said Huijsen's red card was likely correct and the Bellingham-Romero incident did not warrant a red.
- He criticized Real Madrid TV's referee videos as unfair pressure on officials.
Javier Tebas said he understood Real Madrid's grievances over derby refereeing but defended the key calls and criticized the club's TV channel for pressuring officials.
La Liga president Javier Tebas addressed the controversy surrounding Sunday's Madrid derby between Atlético de Madrid and Real Madrid, saying he sympathized with Real Madrid's frustrations over the officiating but disagreed with how the club voiced them.
Speaking to reporters, Tebas said he did not believe refereeing decisions cost Real Madrid the match. He backed the red card shown to Huijsen as likely the correct decision and said that in the incident involving Bellingham, Romero made contact with the ball first, meaning it did not merit a dismissal.
On the play involving Kang In and Valverde, Tebas acknowledged a red card could have been shown and would have been acceptable, but said the speed of the moment helped explain how officials handled it.
Tebas also renewed his criticism of Real Madrid TV's videos highlighting referees, saying La Liga had previously called out the channel's conduct and that the latest episode reinforced the need to push for ethical standards. He described the videos as an unfair and cruel way to pressure match officials.
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Written by the Matchday Live desk from reporting by Yahoo Sports.
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