Real Madrid visited Espanyol on Matchday 22 of the 2024-25 La Liga season, aiming to maintain their momentum at the top of the table. In a heated match, the home side secured a narrow 1-0 victory, but controversy erupted after Kylian Mbappe was brought down by a reckless tackle, prompting coach Carlo Ancelotti to openly criticize the referees’ decision.

The game quickly became contentious. In the 9th minute, Espanyol striker Jofre Carreras handled the ball inside the box, sparking furious protests from Real Madrid players, but no penalty was awarded. Later, in the 21st minute, Vinicius Júnior saw his goal ruled out due to a foul committed by Mbappe, further fueling Madrid’s frustration.

However, the most controversial moment came in the 60th minute, when Carlos Romero tackled Mbappe from behind, catching him directly on the calf. Despite the reckless nature of the challenge, VAR did not intervene, and referee Alejandro Muñiz Ruiz only issued a yellow card. When asked about the decision, Ancelotti did not hold back in his criticism:

“The decision made by the referee and VAR is inexplicable. The most important thing is to protect the player, and it was a clear foul—a very ugly challenge with serious risk. Fortunately, nothing happened, but there was a risk of injury. VAR exists for situations like this. We find it inexplicable that a red card was not given,” the coach said in the post-match press conference.

Pressed about whether refereeing decisions have been going against Real Madrid recently, Ancelotti chose to remain diplomatic but firm: “I don’t want to talk about this topic. I’m only referring to what happened today in the match, and I repeat, we find the decision they made inexplicable when everyone has seen it.”

Mbappe and Romero react to the incident

Following Espanyol’s dramatic 85th-minute winner, attention quickly shifted to the controversy surrounding Romero’s tackle. When asked about the matter, both protagonist gave different reactions.

After the match, Carlos Romero addressed the foul and his challenge on Mbappe. “I knew it was impossible to stop him in full stride, so I tried to slow him down however I could. It was a bit of an ugly tackle, and I apologized to him. It didn’t go any further; it stayed there,” the defender said

As for Mbappe, when asked in the mixed zone whether he believed the challenge warranted a red card, the French star refused to comment, offering only a smirk while making a zipping-lips gesture—implying he preferred not to speak on the matter.