Chronology of a monumental robbery: all the refereeing help to Madrid against Leganés

Pablo González Fuertes (main referee) and Mario Melero López (VAR) starred in a scandalous refereeing performance this Saturday at the Santiago Bernabéu. The officials mercilessly harmed Leganés during their visit to a Real Madrid that ended up winning with three illegal goals at home (3-2). During the 90 minutes, there were five inexplicable decisions that tipped the balance in favor of the 'White House'. Below, we review them one by one.

❌Invented penalty on Arda Güler

The embarrassment began in the 27th minute when González Fuertes sanctioned a non-existent penalty by Óscar Rodríguez on Arda Güler. The Turk hooked his left leg with his rival's upon realizing he would not reach the ball, and the main referee did not hesitate to sanction the foul. Melero López gave the 'ok' to his colleague's decision, instead of calling him to review an erroneous decision that the whole planet saw, except for the officials of the match.

❌Offside of Camavinga in Bellingham's goal

In the 47th minute, Jude Bellingham scored the 2-2 after a bizarre action, preceded by a half-clearance from Dimitrovic and a shot off the crossbar from Rodrygo. The Englishman took the rebound, striking first with a scissors kick to blast the Serbian goalkeeper. However, the goal was illegal due to Eduardo Camavinga's position. The Frenchman was hooked, obstructing Dimitrovic inside the small area. Although the offside was crystal clear, Melero López remained silent from the VAR room.

❌Non-existent foul by Renato Tapia prior to the 3-2 goal

In the 76th minute, Kylian Mbappé capped off the 'merengue' comeback after converting a free kick derived from a non-existent foul by Renato Tapia. The Peruvian midfielder anticipated Rodrygo Goes with a clean tackle, touching the ball with both feet. The Brazilian, however, fell dramatically, and González Fuertes did not hesitate to caution the South American player. The linesman turned a blind eye despite having the play in front of him.

🔴Penalty and red card spared for Jude Bellingham

Jude had just scored an illegal goal two minutes earlier, but his foul on Diego García was simply scandalous. The English midfielder knocked down the Lega forward, touching him on the back and below with his left arm before completing the action with a clear trip. For González Fuertes, the Spanish forward stumbled in the run, and the VAR again sided with him. The '5', of course, should have been sent off, as he was the last man. The Asturian referee had also had a disgraceful performance in the Getafe-Barça match of matchday 19 (1-1).

🔴Clear penalty by Asencio on Diomande

And, in the 'merengue' defense, the big beneficiary of the refereeing blindness was, of course, Raúl Asencio. The 22-year-old defender has become accustomed to distributing kicks and insulting rivals with impunity, and on Saturday, he escaped a clear penalty. Already in stoppage time, the center-back committed another clear foul inside the area, this time extending his right leg to knock down Diomande. It is worth remembering that Asencio had been cautioned since the 62nd minute, so he should have been sent off for the action.