Spanish referees confirm double error over Mbappe penalty in Real Madrid win

The Spanish Football Federation’s refereeing committee has confirmed that two mistakes were made in the decision to award Real Madrid a penalty against Racing Santander on Sunday.

The incident was reviewed on the committee’s “Review Time” programme, broadcast on Wednesday, which examines the main refereeing decisions from recent matches.

Real Madrid were awarded the penalty after Brati challenged Kylian Mbappe inside the area. The France forward converted from the spot to put his side ahead.

The committee said Brati had placed his arm in front of Mbappe but had not applied force during the challenge. It also found no clear connection between the contact and the player’s fall.

It therefore judged Jose Luis Munuera’s decision to award the penalty to be a clear error. Video assistant referee Luis Mario Milla was also deemed to have made a mistake by failing to intervene and ask Munuera to review the incident on the pitchside monitor.

Jose Mourinho, Real Madrid’s manager, admitted after the match that the penalty should not have been given.

“If the video assistant referee was not asleep, this is not a penalty,” Mourinho said.

Real Madrid went on to beat Racing Santander 3-0, taking their points total to 27 and leaving them third in the table. Racing Santander remain on 11 points in 16th place.

Mbappe and Bellingham reach milestones

Mbappe has now scored 18 penalties in the competition. No player has scored more from the spot since the 2024-2025 season, with Mbappe level with Ante Budimir on 18.

The France international has also scored against all 24 teams he has faced in La Liga, with 68 goals overall.

Real Madrid’s three first-half goals away from home marked the first time they had achieved that in La Liga since May 2024. They scored four before half-time against Villarreal at La Ceramica on that occasion.

The previous time Real Madrid had produced the feat under Jose Mourinho in La Liga came in January 2013, when they scored five first-half goals against Valencia at Mestalla.

Jude Bellingham scored his 50th goal for Real Madrid in all competitions during his 154th appearance for the club.

He became the 50th player in Real Madrid’s history to reach that total and is the only English midfielder in La Liga to have scored 50 goals since joining the club in the 2023-2024 season.