The Spanish Referees Technical Committee (CTA) has admitted that a serious error was made during the derby between Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid at the weekend.
The referees' committee has confirmed that Atletico player Lee Kang-in should have been sent off for a dangerous foul on Federico Valverde. The Korean was at the center of one of the most controversial moments of the match. He came extremely dangerously into Valverde's legs, with his buttons landing high around the Uruguayan's ankle.
However, the referee did not even show a yellow card, which caused dissatisfaction from Real Madrid. Even more controversial was the decision after the VAR intervention. The situation was quickly reviewed by the video referees, but they did not recommend changing the original decision. According to the Spanish referees' committee, this was precisely the error. According to information from “Marca”, which refers to the CTA, the correct decision should have been “a direct free kick and a direct red card“.
The committee defined the case as “a clear and obvious error by the referee“ and indicated that “the VAR should have intervened“.