MADRID — Diego Simeone criticised the controversial decision to overturn Gerard Martín’s red card during Atlético Madrid’s 2-1 defeat to Barcelona on Saturday.
Giuliano Simeone put Atletico ahead in the first half at the Metropolitano, before Marcus Rashford levelled, and then Robert Lewandowski scored an 87th-minute winner to extend Barça’s lead at the top of the LaLiga table.
Atlético played 45 minutes with 10 men after Nico González’s sending off, but Barça were spared a red card of their own early in the second period when Martin was dismissed for a forceful challenge on Thiago Almada, only for a VAR review to downgrade the defender’s punishment to a yellow card.
“There isn’t much to say. The action is clear,” coach Simeone said in his post-match news conference. “He [Martin] arrives late, and treads on [Almada].
“I saw the [similar incident] from Betis-Rayo [on Feb. 21] and the [referees’ committee] CTA said it was a red card … Let’s hope the CTA comes out in midweek and clarifies it for next week. They made a mistake, like we coaches do.”
“For everyone who understands football, it’s a red card,” defender Robin Le Normand said. “I don’t know what happened. [The referee] made the right decision, then they reviewed it.
“Everyone can make mistakes, but I think today they made a mistake. Today they were big details which affected the game.”
Barcelona’s win followed rivals Real Madrid’s 2-1 defeat at Real Mallorca earlier on Saturday, meaning Barça now have a seven-point lead at the top.
Atlético now travel to Barcelona on Wednesday, as the teams meet again in their Champions League quarterfinal first leg, in a series of three meetings in 10 days.
Simeone rested a number of key players for Saturday’s game including Julián Álvarez and Ademola Lookman.
“We had a very good first half, with chances on both sides, the team playing well,” Simeone said. “The sending off [of Nico González] was a sending off. There are some sendings off which are sendings off.
“In the second half, it was a different game. We couldn’t attack as we’d have liked. The [Lewandowski] goal came at the end, with a rebound, when we could have got a draw.”
“We played a great game in the first half,” goalkeeper Juan Musso said. “The red card hurt us. It’s difficult to play with one player fewer. I think [Martin’s] was a red … 11 versus 11, we were better, I think.”
