He Atletico Madrid returned to the Metropolitano against the Alavés and he did so with controversy. Garcia Verdura, referee of the match, helped them with a penalty committed by the hands of Abdel Abqar. The referee ignored that at that moment the central defender was receiving a clear foul from Sorloth and, as he fell with his arm outstretched behind him, the ball hit him. Despite the insistence of the Basque team and especially its coach, García Plaza, the Catalan referee had made a decision and did not change it. The VAR did not intervene either.
The play took place in the 76th minute. Sorloth He was preparing to finish and looking for a position in the area with the central babazorro. The unbalanced Norwegian striker Aqbar, who was hit in the arm by the red and white attacker’s shot as he fell. The ball hit him on the back of the elbow. Although the action looked more like a foul than anything else, a penalty was called.
A penalty which allowed Atlético to equalize against Alavés. Griezmann He did not forgive the 11 meters and scored the second goal of the match, since the Vitorian team took the lead in the 9th minute of the match thanks to Guridi, also from the penalty spot. So Galán’s hand was much lighter.
Despite complaints from Alavés players and the Basque coach, Garcia Verdura I was clear. Also from VAR, where he was Figueroa Vazquez. The referee did not want to correct his teammate, or even warn him so that he could assess the possibility that there had been a foul before the hand.
Action by Abqar for which a penalty was awarded in favor of Atlético de Madrid#LALIGAenDAZN ⚽ pic.twitter.com/3gkPMeckS8
– DAZN Spain (@DAZN_ES) November 23, 2024
A hand which, moreover, is more than questionable. Even though it seems like the ball is hitting Akbar on the back of the elbow, this gives the impression that the ball is bouncing off one’s own body, which would invalidate the possibility of a punishable handball. An action very similar to the famous penalty of Military against Sevilla in 2021, which could have cost Real Madrid a league title.
A few minutes after the goal Griezmann For this controversial goal, the return came from the hand of Sorloth. The Norwegian footballer then shot past Sivera to reach the 2-1 final which allowed the red and white to take second place in the League, waiting for what Real Madrid will do.
