Real Madrid TV Slams Referee Over Mbappé Penalty Controversy
The new La Liga season barely has its boots dirty, and already it has its first full-blown refereeing storm. At the centre of it: Kylian Mbappé, a stoppage-time penalty, and an enraged Real Madrid.
Real Madrid’s official television channel has launched a fierce attack on the match officials after Mbappé’s last-gasp spot-kick against Real Betis was not ordered to be retaken, insisting the referee made a “technical error” that directly influenced the result.
Betis beat Madrid 1-0, but the final minutes have dominated the headlines far more than the scoreline.
The 94th-minute flashpoint
The temperature inside the stadium spiked in the 94th minute. Mbappé stepped up from the spot with the chance to rescue a point. The Real Betis goalkeeper guessed right and saved the effort.
Immediately, Madrid’s players surrounded the referee, claiming encroachment by Betis defenders. They argued that at least one defender had stepped into the area before Mbappé struck the ball, which under the laws of the game should have led to the penalty being retaken if that player then became involved in the play.
The referee waved the protests away, treated it as a matter of interpretation, and allowed play to continue. Seconds later, the final whistle blew. Betis 1, Real Madrid 0 – and chaos in the aftermath.
Madrid TV: “A contradiction from the referee”
According to Spanish newspaper AS, the incident has rapidly become one of the biggest talking points of the opening rounds of La Liga. Real Madrid TV then poured fuel on the fire.
The club’s channel dissected the penalty frame by frame and claimed the officials had made a glaring mistake. Its analysts argued that a Betis defender had his right foot on the penalty area line at the exact moment Mbappé struck the ball, then moved inside and directly influenced the rebound. The channel also highlighted Héctor Bellerín, stating he too had one foot touching the line.
Under their reading of the laws, that was enough to demand a retake.
Blistering in tone, Real Madrid TV called the decision “a contradiction from the referee” and expressed astonishment “that a referee does not know his own regulations”, labelling the call “a technical error”.
The criticism did not stop there. The channel openly questioned the consistency of refereeing in Spain, declaring: “Had this happened with Barcelona, the penalty would have been retaken, and had Espi’s goal been for Barcelona, perhaps it would not have been disallowed.”
Espi’s disallowed goal and the encroachment debate
The anger had been simmering even before the penalty. Minutes earlier, Carlos Espi had seen a Real Madrid goal ruled out, a decision that already left Madrid’s camp fuming.
The penalty incident then turned frustration into outright fury.
In its breakdown, Real Madrid TV insisted: “The foul (during the taking of the penalty) was not awarded, whether due to oversight or incompetence.” The channel argued that what it saw as clear encroachment had been ignored, and that this oversight “was not awarded” as an infringement when it should have been.
The refereeing team, for its part, defended the decision, maintaining that Marc Bartra did not step on the penalty area line. Real Madrid’s channel countered that even if Bartra never actually touched the line, he still charged forward early and intervened directly in the play, which, in its view, should again have triggered a retake.
Early-season tension, familiar arguments
One game, one goal, one missed penalty – and a familiar debate about refereeing standards in Spain is back on the table.
For Real Madrid, this is not just about two dropped points. Their official channel has framed it as a question of credibility, consistency, and knowledge of the laws at the elite level.
La Liga has only just started. The scrutiny on the next big decision has already begun.
