Racing Santander boss Jose Alberto questions VAR decisions in defeat by Real Madrid

Racing Santander manager Jose Alberto has criticised the refereeing decisions in his side’s defeat by Real Madrid in La Liga, questioning why VAR intervenes in some matches and incidents but not others.

Real Madrid were awarded a penalty for a foul on Kylian Mbappe, which the France forward converted to score the opening goal after a decision that prompted significant debate.

Racing were then given a penalty in the second half, but the decision was overturned by the referee after a review of the incident on the video assistant referee monitor.

“We do not care what they explain to us,” Jose Alberto told DAZN. “In the end, I do not understand why the video assistant referee intervenes in some matches and not others, or why it intervenes in some situations and not others. That is all I can say.”

He said he accepted the decision to cancel Racing’s penalty after a handball review.

“As I say that, I also say that the handball they reviewed and the penalty they awarded to us and then overturned was, in my opinion, interpreted correctly. That is what the video assistant referee is there for,” he added.

But Jose Alberto remained unhappy with the decision to award Real Madrid their penalty.

“As for the first penalty, the one for Mbappe, all of us who follow football look at that incident and see that absolutely nothing happened,” he said.

“In football, you can touch the ball, but you cannot bring someone to the ground and you cannot hold them. You can touch them, but that is what surprises and concerns me.”

Jose Alberto acknowledged that Real Madrid had been the better team for much of the opening period, but said the penalty had a decisive effect on the match.

“It is clear that we faced a great Real Madrid,” he said. “They dominated us during the first half-hour and were much better than us, but I believe the first goal and that penalty incident decided everything.”

The Racing manager also said he had asked why the incident involving Mbappe had not been reviewed by VAR.

“They believe it was not enough,” he said. “They genuinely believe it was not enough, and that is what surprises me, because recently we heard Mourinho say at a news conference that if the video assistant referee was on holiday, perhaps that was also the case today.”

Mourinho had previously criticised VAR after the clasico for failing to intervene over an incident involving Joao Cancelo and Yan Diomande. He said the Barcelona player should have been sent off.

“The referee had a great game, but the video assistant referee was asleep in the 60th minute,” Mourinho said. “There should have been a red card for his challenge on Diomande.”