A refereeing shock from the heart of Catalonia: the Kang-in and Valverde incident did not warrant a sending-off!

An opinion piece going against the tide

Anger swept through Real Madrid after the capital derby over a series of refereeing decisions. But the analysis of former international referee Parencia Montero contradicts the prevailing Madrid narrative on the most controversial incident in a match Atleti won 2-1.

Montero published an article today in the Catalan newspaper Mundo Deportivo, explaining that referee Miguel Angel Ortiz Arias should only have shown Kang In Lee a yellow card for his strong tackle on Federico Valverde. He did not consider the incident worthy of a sending-off, a view that clashes sharply with the fury surrounding the moment and the Madrid demands for the Atletico Madrid player to see red.

Running through the derby's biggest calls, the former referee picked out where Ortiz Arias got it right and where he got it wrong. He described a match played in a heated atmosphere with numerous clashes, criticising some of the referee's decisions and his handling of the cards.

And to the text of the article:

Conservative refereeing from Miguel Angel Ortiz Arias

Ortiz Arias delivered conservative refereeing in a strong, exciting derby packed with fierce competition and moments of real tension. The match was difficult and troublesome from a refereeing standpoint. He made some mistakes with his cards, giving the impression he had not fully succeeded in a number of his decisions.

Physically, Ortiz Arias made a clear effort to stay close to the play and tried to keep control of the match, but the players gave him little cooperation.

Fouls and punishments he generally handled to a correct standard, yet he made some errors of judgement. Among them was the yellow card he showed to Jude Bellingham, which he was forced to cancel after the intervention of video technology.

On the other hand, he was correct to award a penalty in favour of Giuliano after a tackle from Dean Huijsen.

More than once, Ortiz Arias also had to calm the nerves of the technical staff on the benches. He cautioned Diego Simeone at the start of the match for his objections and gestures towards the fourth official. But he could not put an end to the repeated objections from the players.

Several cards were shown correctly. He cautioned Pubill for bringing down Kylian Mbappe and Romero for a strong tackle on Bellingham, and he booked the England man after a violent tackle on Julian Alvarez.

Ortiz Arias also awarded a penalty and sent off Huijsen for a foul inside the penalty area on Simeone, in a situation where the defender had no real chance of playing the ball.

Yet the referee should have shown Kang-In a yellow card for his strong tackle on Valverde, and cautioned Baena for repeated fouls, especially during the first half.

As for the video technology referee Daniel Jesus Trujillo, he was right to call Ortiz Arias over to review the card shown to Bellingham. The review ended with the Real Madrid player's caution cancelled and handed instead to Romero.

Trujillo intervened correctly once more when he asked Ortiz Arias to review the yellow card shown to Huijsen. That review turned the punishment into a red card.

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