Real Madrid sporting director, Emilio Butragueno, has come out in support of VAR after a controversial penalty decision worked in the club’s favour, despite previous accusations towards the technology.
Los Blancos played out a 2-1 win over Levante on Sunday, but not without the help of VAR after referee Ignacio Iglesias Villanueva awarded Madrid a rather contentious spot-kick following a theatrical dive from Casemiro.
What has Butragueno previously said about VAR? Five key things to know…
- With the match against Levante poised, Casemiro was adjudged to have been fouled by Cheick Doukoure, but upon further inspection, little contact – if any – was made.
- The Brazilian flung himself to the ground in exuberant fashion and won his side a spot-kick, which Gareth Bale converted.
- It is the second time in as many weeks Real have been on receiving end of a controversial VAR decision after Ajax had a goal ruled out in their Champions League encounter.
- Butragueno has previously criticised a referee for failing to consult VAR, despite stating the club “do not discuss officiating decisions”.
- Butragueno’s criticism last month in Madrid’s 2-0 defeat to Real Sociedad has now opened questions of hypocrisy after his latest comments.
The Brazilian enforcer appeared to hurl himself to the ground after Doukoure swung a leg, and in normal time it looked a risky challenge from the Ivorian midfielder, but upon replay of the incident, it seemed as though the 26-year-old swiped at thin air.
Despite this, Casemiro’s theatrical tumble was persuasive enough to sway referee Villanueva, who stuck to his original decision and upheld the spot-kick after consultation with VAR.
In light of the match, Butragueno has come out in support of the technology while further trying to dissociate the club from public disapproval towards refereeing decisions.
“Real Madrid do not discuss officiating decisions, we have never done it and I do not like,” Butragueno explained.
“VAR is a very useful piece of technology which should be utilised, it is beneficial for the sport but of course when something is new, it needs time to work.”
The 55-year-old’s assertion that the club “have never” discussed officiating decisions will be seen as a rather ludicrous statement after he criticised referee Munuera Montero for not consulting VAR following Geronimo Rulli’s foul on Vinicius Junior last month.
Butragueno went on to discuss the nature of Bale’s celebration, which saw the Welshman express little emotion as he jogged back to the centre-circle while simultaneously brushing off his teammates.
It appeared a message of defiance from Bale towards his manager Santiago Solari, who has kept the forward on the bench for the previous six out of eight matches.
He added: “Bale’s celebration? It is not important, the key thing is that he took his penalty well at a critical point in the match and his performance was good.”
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“He can celebrate the goals however he likes”
The celebration, or lack of in Bale’s case, would have been a cause for concern for Solari, but after the match, the Spaniard was quick to play down suggestions of a fractious relationship between himself and his player.
Bale was expected the take the mantle from Cristiano Ronaldo this season, who left for Juventus last summer, but following inconsistency in the dug-out and lingering injury difficulties, the Welshman hasn’t exactly flourished, despite a decent goalscoring return.
As such, his future has been the subject of speculation in recent weeks, particularly with his role being reduced to a more sporadic one in the previous eight matches, but Solari remains adamant there is no rift.
“I’m very pleased. He can celebrate the goals however he likes,” said Solari.
“He was ecstatic when I saw him in the dressing room having got his goal.
“I’m thrilled with how he went out there and he looked hungry when he got on the pitch. He clinched the win for us and worked extremely hard.
“You have an awful lot more eyes than we do, but we’re there and what I saw is how hungry he was to get on the pitch and help the team.”
The post Emilio Butragueno leaves Real Madrid open to hypocrisy accusations with VAR comments appeared first on Squawka News.
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