Roncero backs Real Madrid’s dominance after controversial Mbappe penalty

Tomas Roncero, the editor-in-chief of Real Madrid-friendly Spanish newspaper AS, says the club’s 3-0 victory over Racing Santander cannot be reduced to the referee’s decisions, despite criticising Jose Luis Munuera Montero’s handling of several contentious incidents.

Real Madrid secured a convincing win at El Sardinero in La Liga, but the main focus afterwards was on the penalty awarded to Kylian Mbappe around 10 minutes into the match and an incident involving Real Madrid player Diomand inside the penalty area.

Roncero said Mbappe’s penalty should not have been given, while arguing that Diomand was denied a clear spot-kick.

“The referee denied Diomand a very clear penalty, while Mbappe’s, in my view, was not a penalty,” Roncero said.

He acknowledged that there had been contact between the Racing Santander defender and the France striker, but felt it did not meet the threshold for a foul.

“It is true that he put his arm on him, but that does not mean that nothing happened. Even so, I do not think the contact deserved a penalty,” he added.

Roncero’s strongest criticism was reserved for the challenge on Diomand and the decision not to send the referee to the video monitor for a review.

“I do not understand why the VAR room did not ask the referee to review the challenge on Diomand, because in my view that hit deserved a yellow card,” he said. “If it deserved a booking, that means it was a foul, and the referee should have been alerted to it.”

He described the use of video technology in the two situations as inconsistent, pointing out that VAR did not intervene over the incident involving Diomand but did bring Munuera Montero to the monitor to assess the penalty awarded to Mbappe.

Roncero also rejected any suggestion that his view was influenced by the identity of the teams or players involved. He said he would have taken the same position had Lamine Yamal suffered a similar challenge that went unpunished.

Away from the refereeing debate, Roncero defended Real Madrid’s display and argued that discussion of the decisions had overshadowed the clear difference between the two sides.

He said the result would not have changed even if Mbappe’s penalty had not been awarded. Real Madrid, he added, were capable of scoring more than three goals, while Thibaut Courtois was required to make only one save.

Roncero concluded that anyone who believes Real Madrid’s victory can be explained solely by refereeing either does not understand football or is deliberately ignoring what happened on the pitch.

The accompanying fixture information lists AEK Athens in the Champions League on 04 November 2026, and Real Madrid against Malaga in La Liga on 07 November 2026. Racing Santander is also included in the listing.