The match between Espanyol and Real Madrid caused controversy due to a controversial play. The action led by Carlos Romero, Espanyol's defender, on Kylian Mbappé sparked a wave of comments regarding the referee's decision.
Muñiz Ruiz sanctioned the tackle with a yellow card instead of a red, a decision that was highly questioned. The play and the referee's justification have cast doubt on his impartiality and the correct application of the rules.
Romero's play on Mbappé
The key moment that sparked the controversy occurred when Carlos Romero made an unfortunate tackle on Kylian Mbappé. In an attempt to stop the Real Madrid forward, Romero launched himself recklessly at his opponent, impacting violently and dangerously. Despite the clear aggressiveness of the action, Muñiz Ruiz chose to sanction the play with a yellow card.
At the moment of impact, Mbappé showed clear signs of pain, leading many to think that the tackle was severe enough to warrant a red card. However, the referee decided not to intervene with a harsher sanction, which caused great surprise among Real Madrid players and fans.
The contradiction in the referee's report
Muñiz Ruiz justified his decision in the match report, indicating that the yellow card was due to Romero "recklessly" bringing down Mbappé "in the contest for the ball." Many consider that the referee told a lie. On one hand, by describing the action as "reckless," the referee is implicitly acknowledging that the play was dangerous and could have caused an injury.
On the other hand, by stating it was a "contest for the ball," he implies that Romero intended to play the ball and not harm his opponent. The images show that Romero couldn't contest the ball, as he was far from it at the moment of impact. This highlights that the explanation given by Muñiz Ruiz is completely inconsistent with what actually happened on the field.
The lack of VAR intervention
A essential aspect that has increased the controversy has been the role of VAR in this match. VAR is designed to correct errors in critical plays, but on this occasion, it was not activated to review Romero's tackle.
Despite the evident danger of the play, VAR, supervised by Iglesias Villanueva, didn't intervene to suggest that Muñiz Ruiz review the action on the monitor. This fact was criticized, as VAR should have been used in plays of risk and possible referee error.