The weekend of teams venting their anger on social media
Real Betis have publicly called out what they described as a refereeing ‘disgrace’ in their 1-1 draw against Rayo Vallecano on Sunday.
Manuel Pellegrini’s side were reduced to 10 men in the 33rd minute when Álex Moreno was given his marching orders for a high-foot on Isi Palazón.
Despite this, the away side opened the scoring in added-time of the first-half when Sergio Canales tapped home from close range after a well-worked move from Betis, with Arsenal loanee Hector Bellerin claiming the assist.
Things were looking promising for Betis, but Rayo Vallecano drew level in the 70 minute courtesy of right-back Iván Balliu. Although they were a man down, Betis pushed for a winner but were unable to find an opening and had to settle for a point.
However – despite remaining in third position in La Liga – the Seville based club were incensed with the performance of the referee at the Estadio de Vallecas, labelling it a ‘disgrace’ in a social media rant after the game.
The tweet read: “
Real Betis have always been absolutely respectful with the referees and their decisions, but what we have seen today is incomprehensible. The job of a referee is to be fair and just, not the disgrace we have seen today at Vallecas. pic.twitter.com/dBMVWQGMcg
— Real Betis Balompié (@RealBetis_en) January 9, 2022
It added: “A mistake is understandable, but one error after another, all in the same direction, damaging the rules, cannot be understood. Álex Moreno’s red card, a handball inside the home area, foul before the goal and foul from Carvalho when he was alone. There is no possible explanation.
A mistake is understandable, but one error after another, all in the same direction, damaging the rules, cannot be understood. Álex Moreno’s red card, a handball inside the home area, foul before the goal and foul from Carvalho when he was alone. There is no possible explanation.
— Real Betis Balompié (@RealBetis_en) January 9, 2022
Real Betis feel they should have had penalty
As well as being frustrated by the decision to show Moreno a red card, Betis also believed they should’ve been awarded a penalty when a Vallecano player supposedly handled the ball inside the penalty area.
They also suggested that a foul had been committed prior to the home side’s equaliser.
Betis’ outburst comes after Valencia tweeted about their distain for the officiating in their game against Real Madrid, posting a tweet at 1-0 which said:
‘The robberies in Madrid are starting to become more repetitive’. They also tagged popular show Money Heist, or ‘Casa de Papel’ as it is known in the Spanish speaking world.
This post could see the club slapped with a fine, just as players and managers are fined for making similar comments in interviews and press conferences.
Leeds United also took to social media to react to a controversial refereeing decision in their FA Cup third round tie against West Ham on Sunday, with both the club, the captain and owner all reacting to the incident in question.
Posting a video of the goal on their Twitter account, Leeds opted for a simple caption as they went with a confused emoji and ‘unsure’ emoji.
With Football España reporting that Valencia could be hit with a fine ranging between €600 and €3,000 by the Spanish football association (RFEF), it could be expected that Betis would be given a similar fine if they are charged.
Related links:
- Valencia could be fined over tweet about Real Madrid refereeing decisions
- Leeds post ‘confused’ tweet after controversial goal in FA Cup tie
- Burkina Faso defender escapes certain red card 38 seconds into first AFCON match
