Marc Cucurella criticised after mocking referee during Real Madrid win

Marc Cucurella has been criticised after appearing to mock the officials during Real Madrid’s 3-0 victory away to Racing Santander, a match marked by several controversial penalty decisions.

According to Sport, Racing’s players and staff strongly disputed two incidents. The first involved the penalty awarded after Kylian Mbappe went down inside the area. The second was an initially awarded penalty against Real Madrid for a handball by Aurelien Tchouameni, which referee Munuera Montero overturned after reviewing the incident on the video assistant referee monitor.

DAZN footage appeared to show Cucurella mocking the assistant referee who had indicated that the penalty should be given.

The Real Madrid left-back looked towards the official for several seconds and made sarcastic gestures of approval with his thumbs and fingers. He repeatedly said “brilliant”, apparently suggesting that the decision had been wrongly assessed.

The footage quickly spread across social media, prompting criticism of Cucurella for showing disdain towards a match official regarded as one of the authorities on the pitch.

The incident became one of the most widely discussed moments of the game, which also featured repeated protests from Racing Santander players and members of their coaching staff.

Racing Santander manager Jose Alberto said after the match that he believed the decision to cancel the penalty awarded to his side was correct, but questioned why a similar review had not taken place for the penalty that led to Real Madrid’s opening goal.

“From my point of view, the decision was correct when you look at the footage of the penalty awarded to us and then cancelled, but what really catches my attention is that similar situations were not reviewed for the penalty from which Real Madrid’s opening goal came,” he said.

Cucurella joined Real Madrid from Chelsea last summer and has since established himself as a regular and important option at left-back.

Although he needed some time to reach his best form, he has made 14 appearances in all competitions for the club. He has started nine of those matches and is close to reaching 1,000 minutes for his new side.

Real Madrid’s listed schedule includes a Champions League meeting with AEK Athens on 04 November 2026, followed by a La Liga fixture against Malaga on 07 November 2026. Racing Santander is also listed among the upcoming opponents.