Racing star screams at the referee: you are cowards in front of Real Madrid!

Explosion at El Sardinero

Racing Santander's fury had nothing to do with the 3-0 defeat to Real Madrid. It stemmed from the refereeing decision that tilted the match while it was still goalless, driving one of the team's stars to explode in the faces of the officials, all of it caught on camera.

Deep discontent runs through the corridors of the Cantabrian club over the refereeing in the clash with the Merengues, which finished 3-0 to the visitors. The real turning point, though, came at 0-0.

Referee José Luis Munuera Montero awarded a controversial penalty for a foul by Prati on Kylian Mbappé. The Video Assistant Referee did not even review it, despite serious doubts over its validity, so much so that José Mourinho himself, Real Madrid's manager, admitted after the match that it was not a penalty.

The moment of explosion

DAZN's cameras captured an extremely tense moment as the match neared its end, laying bare just how far Racing's players had been pushed.

On 82 minutes, the manager decided to withdraw star man Íñigo Vicente and send on Juliashvili in his place. Vicente could not contain himself as he left the pitch. Walking towards the substitutes' bench, he suddenly turned to the fourth official and shouted a resounding phrase straight into his face, clearly picked up by the cameras: "My God, you are cowards"!.

That cry summed up the anger and sense of injustice gripping Racing's players and fans, who felt their team had been the victim of a cowardly refereeing decision that denied them the chance to take something from the Madrid giants.