For the Madrid media, the referee precipitated Real’s fall in the Champions League quarter-finals by deciding to send off Eduardo Camavinga for time wasting. Everyone is crying scandal… unlike the Barcelona press.
“What an injustice!” That’s the headline on Marca’s website this Wednesday. A direct reference to the controversial expulsion of Eduardo Camavinga during the Champions League quarter-final lost by Real Madrid to Bayern Munich (4-3). After being defeated in the first leg (1-2), Kylian Mbappé’s teammates put up a huge fight at the Allianz Arena, before collapsing in the final minutes with a numerical disadvantage.
Coming on at the hour mark, Camavinga was sent off in the 86th minute for a second yellow card, eight minutes after the first, for wanting to waste time by taking the ball with him. An “injustice,” according to the Madrid daily and journalist Juan Ignacio García-Ochoa. “This thrilling match did not deserve such an end. Sure, the Frenchman took the ball after committing a foul, but the punishment is totally disproportionate. The referee ruined Real who, down to ten men, could no longer compete with Munich,” he wrote.
“We cannot send off a player for that”
This view is shared by his colleague at the AS newspaper, Luis Nieto, who denounces “a scandalous decision” by the Slovenian referee Slavko Vincic. Iturralde González, a former Spanish referee turned consultant for AS and Cadena Ser, is on the same page: “Camavinga shouldn’t have done that, but at this level, we cannot caution someone for such a thing. If you keep the ball, according to the rules, you can get a yellow card. But common sense should prevail, and at this level, we cannot leave a team with ten for that. Judging by the referee’s body language, it seems like he didn’t remember it was the second card (for Camavinga). And I think that if he had remembered, he wouldn’t have sent him off for something like that.”
Another former Spanish referee, Alfonso Pérez Burrull, agrees, saying, “We cannot expel a player for that. It’s unjustifiable and totally disproportionate. He only keeps the ball for three seconds. The referee should show more restraint considering the stakes and impact on the game. It borders on abuse of authority.” On the Barcelona press side and Mundo Deportivo, they especially highlight Camavinga’s “disastrous” contribution, already “criticized heavily this season for his disappointing performances.”
The Sport newspaper also believes that the French international (23) has “dug his own grave.” And adds, “A tough blow for Madrid. And the impending demise in this match of the club with 15 Champions League titles.” So it will indeed be Bayern who will face PSG for a spot in the final of this 2025-2026 Champions League edition.
