Simeone: Refs, VAR always favour Real Madrid

Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone complained that Real Madrid person preferential attraction from referees aft a consecutive reddish paper was shown to Angel Correa successful a 1-1 gully against their rivals successful Saturday's derby.

Simeone was fuming implicit referee Gil Manzano's sending disconnected of Atletico guardant Correa successful the 64th infinitesimal aft an elbow to the thorax of defender Antonio Rudiger with the people 0-0.

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"A interaction is not a blow," Simeone told DAZN aft the game. "Football is simply a carnal game. If I'm not mistaken, Rudiger measures 1.94m and if it was seemingly specified a brutal blow, it would person near him sitting down, but helium instantly gets up.

"It whitethorn beryllium a yellowish [card] but taking a subordinate retired for that, determination would beryllium nary players near connected the field.

"It's the aforesaid story. It is normal, and it has go mean [refereeing favouring Madrid] and that's not close and it would beryllium bully if we could each vie successful the aforesaid way."

It was the 3rd clip this play that Simeone felt his squad had been punished unfairly against Madrid.

Atletico had Stefan Savic reddish carded successful their 3-1 extra-time nonaccomplishment astatine Real Madrid successful the Copa del Rey quarterfinal connected Jan. 26 and had Mario Hermoso sent disconnected successful their 2-1 decision to Real Madrid successful LaLiga connected Sept. 18.

"In the Copa del Rey, they could person sent disconnected [Madrid's] Dani Ceballos for a foul that was a red," Simeone said. "Today, Angel's foul they saw it that way. You person each seen it, determination are things that are precise clear."

Simeone was asked astir the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) and said: "It tin spell either way, sometimes successful your favour, sometimes against you.

"However, each clip we travel present [to the Bernabeu stadium], it goes against us."

Atletico besides expressed their choler thtorugh the club's authoritative Twitter account, which tweeted: "Nothing caller astatine the Bernabeu."

After the sending off, Atletico nevertheless went up done Jose Maria Gimenez successful the 78th infinitesimal earlier giving distant Alvaro Rodriguez's equaliser 7 minutes later.

"We are near with the feeling that we could person won the game," Simeone said. "We knew that Madrid astatine the extremity of games are precise dangerous.

"We overcame Reinildo's injury, besides recovered from Correa's sending disconnected and took the lead. We could person defended amended truthful arsenic not to concede the equaliser, but we indispensable proceed connected this affirmative path."

Simeone, meanwhile, confirmed that Atletico defender Reinildo has suffered a superior genu wounded that volition support him retired of enactment for the remainder of the season.

The Mozambican defender was stretchered disconnected successful the archetypal fractional with a suspected torn close ACL.

"It's a superior injury," Simeone said. "We person to hold to spot what the doc says aft the tests carried retired successful hospital. It's a pity. We nonstop him a batch of strength. He volition instrumentality to play successful 5 oregon six months."

Saturday's effect near Real Madrid 2nd successful LaLiga, 7 points down Barcelona, who sojourn Almeria connected Sunday.

"LaLiga has go much hard now," Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti said. "It already was anterior to this game, and it is adjacent much aft this game. What we are going to bash is combat until the last game."

Ancelotti, whose broadside came from 2-0 down to bushed Liverpool 5-2 successful their midweek Champions League circular of 16 archetypal leg, admitted his squad weren't astatine their sharpest.

"We lacked a small spot of intelligence freshness, particularly erstwhile being successful numerical superiority," helium said.

There was 1 affirmative for Madrid and that was teenage guardant Alvaro Rodriguez scoring his archetypal extremity connected his first-team debut astatine the Santiago Bernabeu.

"He is simply a youngster that has a batch of enthusiasm to play for Real Madrid and helium has scored for the archetypal clip astatine the Bernabeu," Ancelotti said.