Real Madrid goalkeeper surprised by his dismissal; expected to file an appeal | OneFootball

The final whistle of Sunday’s El Clasico at the Santiago Bernabeu did little to bring calm to a fiery evening. Real Madrid’s 2-1 win over Barcelona, which took them five points clear at the top of La Liga, descended into chaos as a touchline brawl erupted.

Amid the melee, reserve goalkeeper Andriy Lunin was shown a red card despite not being directly involved in any physical altercation.

Andriy Lunin was shocked at the dismissal

According to The Athletic, the Ukrainian’s dismissal shocked the Real Madrid camp, with club sources confirming that an appeal will be filed.

Lunin stepped in to protect Vinicius Junior, who was being confronted by members of the Barcelona bench following heated exchanges with Lamine Yamal.

“The entire Barcelona bench was going towards Vini, and Lunin stood in front of him to protect him,” a source told The Athletic.

The red card left Lunin surprised. (Photo by Florencia Tan Jun/Getty Images)

Lunin’s intervention came moments after Vinicius had to be restrained by teammates and staff while arguing with Yamal, the tension between the two having built throughout the match.

The young Barcelona winger’s pre-match comments labelling Madrid ‘cheaters’ had not gone down well at Valdebebas, and tempers flared again at full-time.

While Vinicius was shown a yellow card for his role in the incident, Lunin’s sending-off appeared excessive to many inside the Bernabeu. Club officials reportedly “did not understand” the referee’s decision and are confident that the appeal will succeed.

Despite the post-match chaos, the Brazilian winger later struck a conciliatory tone, telling Real Madrid TV,

“El Clasico is like that, there are many things on and off the pitch. We don’t want to offend anyone, neither the Barcelona players nor the fans.”