Gaya insists Valencia red card against Real Madrid should have been yellow

Jose Gaya defended the challenge that led to his dismissal as Valencia were beaten 3-0 by Real Madrid in La Liga on Saturday.

The Valencia captain was shown a straight red card in the 79th minute after bringing down Kylian Mbappe, who had scored Real Madrid’s third goal four minutes earlier. The result left Valencia to finish the match with 10 players.

Gaya said he had been trying to halt a dangerous attack and denied that he intended to injure Mbappe.

“I have not watched the incident again, but I had to stop the attack,” he told reporters after the match. “It is true that the challenge was strong, but I had no intention of hurting the player at all.”

He also argued that the nature of the contact did not justify a sending-off.

“I think the images show that I did not go in with my studs, and that my foot was low,” added the Valencia captain.

Gaya said he was uncertain whether the referee had dismissed him because of the force of the challenge or because he was the last defender.

“I do not know if the referee sent me off because the challenge was strong or because I was the last defender,” he said. “I was in a poor defensive position, but for me the incident deserved only a yellow card.”

Real Madrid took control of the match when Federico Valverde put the visitors ahead in the 28th minute. Arda Guler doubled their advantage eight minutes later before Mbappe completed the scoring in the 75th minute.

The victory moved Real Madrid into second place in the La Liga table on 30 points, level with leaders Barcelona. Barcelona, who remain top, are due to visit third-placed Atletico de Madrid on Sunday.

Atletico de Madrid have 28 points before that fixture.