Real Madrid Dressing Room ‘In Flames’ After Espanyol Defeat
Real Madrid’s La Liga title challenge suffered a major setback after a shocking 1-0 loss to Espanyol, which ended their impressive run and handed them their 7th defeat of the year. Despite being in a strong position with a 7-point lead over Barcelona and a 4-point gap to Atlético Madrid, the loss was a bitter blow to their title hopes.
The aftermath of the defeat, however, had little to do with the team’s performance on the pitch. Instead, it was the controversial refereeing decisions that dominated the conversation. A late goal by Carlos Romero handed Los Blancos the loss, but it was a contentious challenge by Romero on Kylian Mbappé earlier in the match that became the focal point of the post-match fury.
Real Madrid officials and players were enraged by the referee’s failure to show Romero a red card for the challenge, with the club’s official video implying that La Liga referees may be corrupt. Carlo Ancelotti himself described the decision as “inexplicable.”
Inside the dressing room, the frustration was palpable. According to reports from Diario AS, the players believe that the referees are intentionally targeting the team, and the decision not to send Romero off was seen as an act of malice aimed at undermining Los Blancos. This anger and disbelief within the squad have reportedly reached unprecedented levels.
Beyond the Romero challenge, the players felt aggrieved by a potential penalty for handball by Espanyol’s Jofre Mateu, as well as the disallowed goal by Vinícius Júnior due to a clear foul committed by Mbappé in the build-up.
Such was the level of frustration that no Real Madrid players spoke to the media after the game. They chose to remain silent, with some even contemplating releasing a statement to express their discontent. This comes in the wake of earlier comments from Royal Spanish Football Federation President Rafael Louzan, who spoke about Real Madrid’s attempts to push for changes in the refereeing system in Spain.
