On Sunday, Real Madrid faced Almeria in a La Liga thriller that saw the former emerging victorious courtesy of a second-half comeback. Behind Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior and Dani Carvajal, Madrid rallied to win, 3-2, in a match marred by postgame drama.
Following the outing, multiple Almeria players claimed that the referees were in favor of Madrid, with midfielder Gonzalo Melero going as far as saying Almeria had been “robbed.” Carlo Ancelotti, however, fired back at Almeria’s accusations, claiming that the officials made the right calls throughout the match.
“I understand Almería’s anger with the decisions, but I think they were all correct,” Ancelotti said, via ESPN’s Sam Marsden. “I have seen them back. I think the referee gets them right. It’s not VAR making the decisions. VAR advises and the referee decides. I think he was right.”
The calls which caused Almeria outcry vs. Real Madrid
The specific calls which caused controversy came in three forms. The first was the penalty call which paved the way for Jude Bellingham’s penalty goal. The officials signaled a handball violation for Almeria defender Kaiky Fernandes, despite Almeria players claiming he had been fouled.
Secondly, Almeria midfielder Sergio Arribas managed to hit the back of the net, but the goal was disallowed due to a foul called on one of his teammates. Lastly, Madrid’s second goal courtesy of Vinicius was counted even though it seemed to bounce off his shoulder.
All three moments were reviewed on the monitor. Fortunately for Real Madrid, the calls stood, and the team managed to seal off the game courtesy of Carvajal’s conversion in the 99th minute.
Currently second in the standings, Madrid now has 51 points and is within arms reach of league-leaders Girona. The club is set to face Las Palmas on Saturday.
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