In matchday 4 of La Liga, Real Madrid lost 0-1 away to Real Betis, and several refereeing decisions sparked controversy during the match. Refereeing analyst Iturralde González, from "AS" and Spanish radio SER, reviewed numerous controversial decisions from Real Betis's home match against Real Madrid, applying current rules and the new refereeing standards set by Spain's Technical Arbitration Committee (CTA) for this season.

Real Betis vs Real Madrid

In the 53rd minute, Güler nearly received a second yellow card and was sent off. Güler received his first yellow card for a foul on Fornals during stoppage time of the first half. Just 8 minutes after the second half began, he committed another foul while defending against Roca—an action that could have resulted in his expulsion with two yellow cards.

Iturralde explained on the program "Carrusel": "For the first foul, Alejandro Hernández showed a yellow card because the referee deemed it had stopped a dangerous attack, not simply because the foul itself was particularly serious. Alejandro Hernández had been reluctant to show cards throughout the match... The second incident, compared to the first, arguably deserved a yellow card more, but that doesn't mean I don't think the first yellow should have been shown. Now referees are being taught the idea that a second yellow-card offense must be significantly more severe than the first, but there is absolutely no basis for this in the competition rules."

Several controversial moments occurred in rapid succession near the end of the match. In the 86th minute, Espi scored, but VAR disallowed the goal because a Real Madrid player was in an offside position during a touch in the build-up phase of the attack.

Iturralde explained: "This year, thanks to built-in soccer sensors and automatic offside systems, the human factor in refereeing has been greatly reduced. Now, except in some special scenarios where the system cannot distinguish between defenders and attackers, machines make all the decisions. The replay clearly shows that, indeed, it was offside."

In the 93rd minute of the match, De Ossa fouled Vinicius, resulting in a penalty kick. Iturralde stated plainly: "This was an indisputable penalty."

Mbappé took the penalty, which was saved by Valles. Real Madrid players argued the penalty should be retaken, claiming that a Real Betis player involved in clearing the ball had encroached into the penalty area prematurely.

Iturralde explained why he believed the penalty should have been retaken: "The wording of the rule is not precise enough, which creates room for confusion in its interpretation. There was a similar controversy over identification recognition at the World Cup, and FIFA ultimately had to clarify that the rule had been applied incorrectly at that time. This rule is more of a guideline from Spain's Technical Arbitration Committee (CTA), and the wording is very vague. The rule text addresses player positioning when play resumes, stating that if a player is airborne, the projection of their feet upon landing should be used for judgment.

This phrasing itself leaves room for referee interpretation. The CTA's position is that as long as a player has one foot on the ground outside the penalty area, even if their body and the other foot are completely inside it, it is not considered encroachment. This is the CTA's logic for interpreting this rule. However, my understanding is that if a player is airborne, even if one foot is outside the penalty area but their entire body has entered the area, encroachment should be judged based on the projection of their other foot.

It is highly likely the CTA will rule on Tuesday that a penalty retake is not necessary. But if you read the original rule text, you will find many ambiguities, which depend entirely on the subjective inclination of the interpreter..."

Traducido por IA.

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