Nico González sent off in an Atlético-Barça clash full of controversy | 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 verge of halftime, Lamine broke free down the right, parallel to the box and running shoulder to shoulder 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 the leg.

Although the foul did not seem all that violent, and it was not an obvious goalscoring chance, the referee did not hesitate and showed him a red card.

Different standard?

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

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

It seemed that a different standard had been applied to two similar plays. And that is 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.