Mourinho accepts Mbappe spot-kick call was debatable after Real Madrid victory

Jose Mourinho has admitted that Kylian Mbappe’s controversial penalty for Real Madrid against Racing Santander was a marginal decision, although he insisted it did not determine the outcome of the match.

Mbappe converted the spot-kick in Sunday’s La Liga meeting with Racing Santander, helping Real Madrid to a 3-0 victory.

Refereeing experts subsequently concluded that the France striker should not have been awarded the penalty. The Spanish refereeing committee also acknowledged earlier on Wednesday that the match official had made an error in giving the decision.

Asked about the incident after Real Madrid’s Champions League match against AEK Athens on Wednesday, Mourinho said: “For me, it was a small penalty, I admit that. If it had been given against me, I would not have been happy.”

However, the Real Madrid manager played down the significance of the decision, arguing that his side would have won comfortably regardless.

“This was a situation that had no impact on the points,” he said, in comments reported by AS. “Even if we had not been awarded the penalty, we would have won by three, four or five goals.

“If we had needed to score more, we would have done so, but the team did not want to continue scoring.”

The result maintained Real Madrid’s winning momentum, while the penalty continued to attract scrutiny after the Spanish refereeing authorities admitted that the call was incorrect.

Mourinho praises Nadal appointment

Mourinho also welcomed the decision to appoint Spanish tennis great Rafael Nadal to Real Madrid’s board.

“I take my hat off to Real Madrid, and to the great Rafa Nadal,” he said. “I think he is a huge Real Madrid supporter, and he certainly has to be to join the board.

“But Rafa Nadal is Rafa Nadal, and as a coach I feel very proud to have him with us.”

Mourinho then joked that Nadal’s new role should not change how supporters of other clubs view the former world number one.

“I only hope that supporters of other clubs who love Nadal will not stop loving him because he supports Real Madrid,” he added.