Real Madrid’s Diomande penalty appeal rejected against Racing Santander

Real Madrid’s early penalty appeal was dismissed during their Spanish league match against Racing Santander on Sunday after referee Jose Luis Munuera Montero ruled there had been no foul on Yan Diomande.

The incident came in the fifth minute, when Diomande advanced down the left before attempting to deliver a cross from inside the penalty area. Racing Santander defender Alvaro Mantilla made contact with the Ivorian as he played the ball.

Real Madrid players immediately called for a penalty, but Munuera Montero waved away their appeals and indicated that play should continue.

Archivo VAR, a network that analyses refereeing decisions through its account on X, also assessed the incident and agreed with the referee’s decision.

“Is there a penalty against Mantilla for Diomande?” Archivo VAR asked.

Its response was: “No. The defender lightly steps on the Ivorian player after he has delivered the cross, making it marginal contact.”

It added: “This incident cannot be considered reckless, so there is no foul.”

The decision was later contrasted with an incident involving Kylian Mbappe, who was awarded a penalty that created considerable debate. Mbappe converted the spot-kick to score Real Madrid’s opening goal.