"VAR should have intervened because it’s a red card" - Former referee claims Real Madrid star should have been sent off in Atletico Madrid draw

Former referee Iturralde Gonzalez believes Dani Ceballos should have been sent off in Real Madrid's 1-1 draw against Atletico Madrid on Saturday, February 8, in LaLiga. The two teams locked horns at the Santiago Bernabeu in the first Madrid Derby of the year.

Los Blancos arrived at the game in first place in the league table but had lost the previous league game 1-0 to Espanyol. Diego Simeone's side, meanwhile, started the game in second place in LaLiga, a point behind their local rivals.

The controversial incident occurred in the 25th minute when Ceballos stood on Pablo Barrios' ankle while contesting for a ball. Referee Cesar Soto Grado showed the 28-year-old a yellow card for the tackle.

However, speaking to Cadena SER, as cited by Diario AS via Football Espana, Gonzalez insisted that Real Madrid should have been reduced to 10 men for that challenge.

“It’s a red card, because Ceballos doesn’t go to the ball. He is going to step on him clearly and turns his right leg to step. For me, VAR should have intervened because it’s a red card,” said Gonzalez.

Atletico Madrid won a penalty five minutes later, which Julian Alvarez converted to give Atletico Madrid the lead. However, Real Madrid rallied after the break and drew level through Kylian Mbappe's strike. Interestingly, both sides also registered a 1-1 draw in the reverse fixture earlier this season at the Metropolitano Stadium.

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Was Cesar Soto Grada right to away a penalty against Real Madrid?

Kylian Mbappe.

Real Madrid conceded a penalty when Aurelien Tchouameni tripped Lino in the box. Cesar Soto Grada reviewed the incident multiple times on the pitch side monitor before awarding Atletico Madrid a penalty.

Gonzalez added that it was the correct decision from the referee.

“It’s a penalty. The CTA, which is the one that dictates the referee’s criteria, says that stepping on an opponent inside the area in a dispute for the ball is a penalty. A few hours ago, Athletic’s 1-0 (against Girona) came because of another stomp," said Gonzalez.

He continued:

“Here we cannot talk about a residual penalty, since due to that stomp the Atletico player cannot continue in the attacking phase. The ball was still inside the area and in the possession of Simeone’s team and after that stomp you leave the player with no chance of finishing.”

It is worth noting that Real Madrid have been quite vocal about refereeing decisions going against them in the past week, following the 1-0 defeat to Espanyol.