Three points, a stoppage-time winner on debut and a first win of the season — and by Monday night the loudest conversation around Real Madrid was not about any of it. It was about the referee again. Real Madrid TV has gone back over the win at Espanyol and delivered a verdict on the officiating that reaches all the way to the Camp Nou, because the club’s own channel has chosen Lamine Yamal as its measuring stick.
The analysis, reported by Madrid Universal, accuses the match officials of being “extremely lenient with the violent fouls committed by Espanyol’s players, especially those to which Vinicius was subjected” — and argues that the Barcelona teenager is afforded a protection that Vinícius Júnior is not.
What Real Madrid TV Actually Said
The channel’s case begins in the third minute. A challenge by Cala on Vinícius was flagged by Real Madrid TV as a bookable offence that went unpunished, and in its reading that single non-decision set the tone for everything that followed.
“Sánchez Martínez did not show him the yellow card,” the channel said. “This was the first major decision of the referee from the city of Murcia, and he would continue along this approach, alongside Figueroa Vázquez in the video assistant referee technology.”
From there the argument widens. Several of the challenges on the Brazilian, Real Madrid TV claimed, appeared designed to “take him out of the match’s atmosphere” without ever drawing the cards the club felt were merited. It is worth noting that Sánchez Martínez’s appointment was already a talking point before a ball was kicked at the RCDE Stadium.
Why Lamine Yamal Is In This At All
The comparison is the part that will travel. Real Madrid TV’s contention is that Vinícius was fouled repeatedly without Espanyol players being cautioned, while Lamine Yamal has received greater protection in comparable situations. No claim is made about a specific Barcelona match; the channel is arguing about a standard rather than a single incident.
Whether you find that persuasive probably depends on where you sit. What is not in dispute is that the treatment of Vinícius has become a running theme of the season’s opening fortnight — José Mourinho himself framed it in blunt terms after the game, saying Spanish football is “still in the era of bullying”. Nor is it the first time the club’s television channel has put a referee under the microscope, a habit that Javier Tebas has publicly complained about.
Espanyol Saw The Same Ninety Minutes Differently
Here is the wrinkle. The manager in the other dugout came out of the same match with the opposite grievance. Manolo González, speaking after the 2-1 defeat and reported by Managing Madrid, was careful to say the officiating had not decided the result — but he did not like the standard either.
“The refereeing didn’t affect the result, but what bothers me is the criteria,” González said. “We’re not a team that wastes time, but every throw-in was counted against us, every foul was called for the slightest contact… Real Madrid’s fouls weren’t counted. The criteria weren’t applied equally.”
Two clubs, one referee, and both convinced the whistle went the other way. That is either evidence that Sánchez Martínez got the balance roughly right, or evidence of how little trust there is left in the middle of a LaLiga pitch. Madridistas will have a firm view on which.
The football, at least, is not waiting. Carlos Espí’s stoppage-time winner put three points on the board, and on Wednesday the Santiago Bernabéu opens for the first time this season. Real Madrid TV will be watching that one closely too.
