“Never seen anything like it” – Atletico Madrid star fumes at referee following Club World Cup exit | OneFootball

It’s safe to say that Atletico Madrid have not been happy with the standard of refereeing during their matches at the Club World Cup. And those frustrations continued after their final group stage fixture, which saw a 1-0 victory over Botafogo.

That result was not enough for Atleti to book their place in the knockout stages, as they needed to win by a three-goal margin to overhaul their Brazilian opponents in the Group B standings. But it was not possible, although it could have been had they been awarded at least one penalty in the first half.

On two separate occasions, Julian Alvarez appeared to be fouled inside the penalty area, but nothing was given. For the second one, it would have been a spot-kick had Alexander Sorloth not been called for a supposed foul in the build-up – and this was a decision that infuriated Atleti.

Giuliano Simeone hits out at referee after non-penalty calls

Diego Simeone refused to criticise referee Cesar Ramos for that call, but son Giuliano Simeone did not hold back when speaking to DAZN during the half time interval (via MD).

“I’ve never seen anything like it, to be honest. I think we should have been awarded two penalties. I didn’t see them again, so maybe I’m wrong. I’d have to see them again. I think the decisions are not favouring us at all. In all the divided ones, we have to play against that.”

Diego Simeone, Giuliano’s father and manager, was tight-lipped on the refereeing performance in California (Image via Angel Colmenares/Diario AS)

It’s understandable that there is a lot of frustration at Atleti following their Club World Cup exit. Two victories would normally be enough to see a team through to the knockout stages, but on this occasion, it was not to be for Los Colchoneros, who will return home to Madrid imminently.