Spanish referees back Maffeo’s yellow card for challenge on Mbappe

Spain’s Technical Committee of Referees has endorsed Alejandro Hernandez Hernandez’s decision to show Valencia defender Pablo Maffeo a yellow card for his challenge on Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappe at Mestalla last Saturday.

Real Madrid’s substitutes’ bench called for Maffeo to be sent off, with the club’s players arguing that the incident denied Mbappe a clear opportunity to score. Some Valencia supporters, however, believed the challenge did not warrant even a foul.

The controversy occurred before Real Madrid opened the scoring in a 3-0 victory over Valencia in the 12th round of La Liga. The home side’s players and bench were surprised when Hernandez Hernandez opted for a booking rather than a red card.

The incident was reviewed on Tuesday by the Spanish Football Federation’s official “Review Time” programme on X. The programme examined what punishment should have been given to Maffeo before presenting the interpretation adopted by the Technical Committee of Referees.

The committee concluded that the correct decision was to award Real Madrid a direct free-kick and issue Maffeo with a yellow card.

According to the explanation reported by Cadena SER, Mbappe and Maffeo were competing for a ball in the air when the Valencia defender pushed the Real Madrid forward from behind, sending him to the ground. The committee therefore judged that a foul had been committed.

It also ruled that the conditions required for a sending-off for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity were not present. Mbappe was not in control of the ball when the challenge took place, meaning the incident did not meet the criteria for a red card.

The committee instead classified the challenge as an offence that stopped a promising attack. That assessment justified the yellow card and brought an end to the dispute over Hernandez Hernandez’s decision.

The ruling supports the referee despite Real Madrid’s protests and the differing views surrounding the incident, including the belief among some Valencia supporters that there should have been no foul.