What did the referee write? New details in the Real Madrid and Valencia clashes inside the Mestalla tunnel
Objections that inflamed the situation
The dressing room tunnel at the Mestalla stadium witnessed fierce clashes between Real Madrid players and Valencia officials after the two sides met on matchday 12 of La Liga. The National Police had to step in once the tension boiled over into physical altercations, among them a clash between German defender Antonio Rüdiger and a member of Valencia's private security.
According to the Spanish newspaper "AS", Rüdiger got into an altercation with a member of Valencia's private security, who was struck while trying to separate those involved. On Real Madrid's side, the German defender was joined by Éder Militão and Jude Bellingham.
It all kicked off after Valencia's players objected to the referee's decision on the foul that preceded Federico Valverde's opener. Mafio was penalised for a challenge on Kylian Mbappé, and the home side simply weren't convinced.
Led by captains José Gayà, Guido Rodríguez and Pepelu, a number of Valencia's players wanted to air their grievances to referee Hernández Maeso as he headed to the referees' dressing room. Members of the coaching staff and sporting director Braulio Vázquez joined them.
At that moment, the Real Madrid players rounded on their opponents, demanding they keep quiet and get to the dressing rooms. The tension only ratcheted up.
Security forces had to wade in and separate the players, according to the sources cited by the report. One of those security members was struck by Rüdiger in the process.
What happened at half-time?
Referee Hernández Maeso logged a separate incident in his official report, one that unfolded during the half-time break. The protagonist this time was Braulio Vázquez, Valencia's sporting director, who squared up to the first assistant referee.
The referee's report stated: "He caused an altercation, which reached the point of confronting my first assistant, and he addressed him repeatedly in an angry tone, saying: it's not a foul, it's not a foul! What a thing!".
Hernández Maeso added: "Likewise, when I passed next to him, he directed the same phrases at me on repeated occasions, while maintaining an angry tone and agitated behaviour".
His report concluded: "As a result of this situation, it was necessary for members of the National Police to intervene, who proceeded to verify his identity, and were forced to restrain him and remove him from the area to put an end to the incident".
