Nico González sent off in a controversy-packed Atlético v Barça | OneFootball

Argentine Nicolás González was sent off this Saturday in the clash between Atlético Madrid and Barcelona, on Matchday 30 of LaLiga 2025/2026, for a hard foul on Lamine Yamal.

Right on the brink of halftime, Lamine broke away down the right, parallel to the box and running stride for stride with González. When the Spaniard gained a few inches on him, the midfielder went to ground looking to poke the ball away.

He was a split second late and, instead of the ball, caught his leg.

Although the foul didn’t seem all that violent, and it was not a clear-cut scoring chance, the referee didn’t hesitate and showed him a red card.

Just after the second half began, Gerard Martín went in for a challenge with Argentine Thiago Almada in midfield and did so with excessive force. So much so that he ended up stamping on his opponent’s ankle in a pretty shocking play.

Once again, Mateo Busquets quickly pulled out the red card and sent him off. However, the VAR call came in, the referee went to review the play on the monitor, and ended up changing his decision.

It seemed that different standards were applied to two similar plays. And that’s why the home crowd made its frustration heard.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.