Atletico Madrid complain to Referee’s Committee over Barcelona non-red card | OneFootball

Atletico Madrid are feeling hard done by after their 2-1 defeat to Barcelona at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano on Saturday. Their main grievance centres on the decision to rescind a red card to Gerard Martin that had been given on-field by referee Mateo Busquets Ferrer, whose decision was overturned after a VAR check.

Martin initially saw red for a studs-up challenge on Thiago Almada, but after a VAR intervention, his punishment was downgraded to a yellow card. Atleti’s players, coaching staff and supporters could not believe the decision, and the club’s hierarchy has now decided to take further action.

As per Diario AS, Atleti have submitted a complaint to the Technical Committee of Referees (CTA), as they seek to understand why Martin’s red card was overturned. Club sources have claimed that “it is impossible to compete when they explain some rules and others are applied”, with their ignominy regarding referees having grown in the last 24 hours.

Second match in a row that Atleti have fumed at key decision

Prior to the international break, Atleti also lost 2-1 to city rivals Real Madrid, and during that match, they felt hard done by after Dani Carvajal got away with a challenge on Marcos Llorente inside the penalty area. Their frustration has only got worse after this incident with Martin, which left them facing Barcelona with a man disadvantaged for the entire second half, rather than 10v10.

It will be interesting to see whether anything comes of Atleti’s complaint. They have cited a previous incident involving Real Betis defender Valentin Gomez, with the CTA ruling that he should have been sent off for a similar challenge on Rayo Vallecano’s Andrei Ratiu during a recent La Liga match between the two teams.

For now, Atleti must switch their focus to Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final first leg against Barcelona, which takes place at the Spotify Camp Nou.