Real Madrid face possible sanction after five-minute delay against Atletico Madrid

Real Madrid could face disciplinary action after their second-half arrival was delayed by five minutes during Sunday’s 2-1 defeat by Atletico Madrid in the seventh round of the Spanish league.

According to Mundo Deportivo, referee Miguel Angel Ortiz Arias noted in his report that the visiting team was late returning to the pitch after half-time. The report also recorded the bookings and sending-off issued before the interval.

Ortiz Arias wrote: “The second half started five minutes later than the scheduled time because the visiting team was late entering the field of play.”

The incident will now be considered by the disciplinary committee of the Spanish Football Federation, which must decide whether Real Madrid should be punished.

Article 89 of the regulations deals with a team arriving late for a match when the delay does not prevent the fixture from being played. It states: “When a team arrives at the sporting facilities significantly and unjustifiably late, but despite this delay does not prevent the match from taking place, or when the team is late entering the field of play, either at the start of the match or in the second half, the club will be fined up to 3,000 euros.”

The article also sets out possible sanctions for those directly responsible. “In the case of the first offence covered by this article, the directly responsible officials will be punished with a suspension or exclusion of up to two months,” it says.

“A second offence will be considered misconduct by the head coach of the offending team, which could result in him being sent off and suspended for between one and three matches.”

The regulations therefore allow for both a financial penalty against the club and disciplinary action involving the manager if the offence is repeated.

Initially, the incident is expected to result in a warning from the disciplinary committee, as has been customary in previous seasons. According to the report, the Spanish Football Federation’s disciplinary body generally imposes a fine on the club only when similar breaches are repeated.

A series of about three offences could lead to stronger action, including a possible sanction against Jose Mourinho.