Defender Le Normand says “big details affected the game”
Diego Simeone criticised the decision to overturn a “clear” red card for Barcelona during Atletico Madrid’s 2-1 defeat in La Liga.
Atletico took the lead at the Metropolitano through Giuliano Simeone before Marcus Rashford equalised for Barcelona. Robert Lewandowski then scored a late winner in the 87th minute to extend Barcelona’s advantage at the top of the table.
The hosts were reduced to 10 men for the second half after Nico Gonzalez was sent off. Barcelona appeared set to face a similar setback when Gerard Martin was shown a red card for a challenge on Thiago Almada, but VAR downgraded the decision to a yellow.
“There isn’t much to say – the action is clear,” Simeone said. “He arrives late and treads on [Almada]. “I saw a similar incident from Betis-Rayo and the [Spanish referees’ committee] CTA said it was a red card.
“Let’s hope the CTA comes out in midweek and clarifies it for next week. They made a mistake, like we coaches do.”
Atletico defender Robin Le Normand also questioned the decision.
“For everyone who understands football, it’s a red card,” said Le Normand. “I don’t know what happened. [The referee] made the right decision. Then they reviewed it.
“Everyone can make mistakes, but I think today they made a mistake. Today they were big details which affected the game.”
