Morocco’s Medhi Benatia furious over penalty decision in Marseille’s defeat against Real Madrid

Former Morocco international Medhi Benatia has lamented about the ‘harsh’ penalty call against Olympique Marseille following ng defeat to Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League clash on Tuesday.

The Spanish giants were handed an early scare at the Santiago Bernabéu after American-Liberian attacker Timothy Weah broke the deadlock for the visitors.

However, Real Madrid staged a strong comeback to secure victory, with Kylian Mbappe netting a brace from the penalty spot.

Before securing victory, Madrid had been reduced to 10-man after Dani Carvajal received the marching orders.

However, Benatia, who is Sporting Director of Marseille has raised concerns about officiating, describing the penalty call against his outfit as harsh.

“We’re disappointed,” Benatia said as reported by Radio Monte Carlo. “We thought we had the match in our hands after playing 11 against 10 in the 75th minute, but unfortunately, we lost it.”

“Despite Real Madrid’s many chances, we lost on a penalty kick like this. I don’t mean it was fake, because there was a handball, but the referee was harsh because the Marseille defender interfered with the ball and was lying on the ground. I may have been wrong, but losing in this scenario is annoying.”

He continued: “I also feel regret for our performance in the first 30 minutes. We suffered from the Bernabeu syndrome during that time, and the players were in a state of shock, but we came out with some positives.”

The former Moroccan star concluded: “I asked the Marseille players to hold their heads high. We’ve brought in a number of new players, and if I were a fan of this team, I’d be proud of it. What we showed against Real Madrid bodes well for the future”