La Liga’s Technical Committee of Referees will meet on Monday to examine a disputed penalty awarded to Kylian Mbappe during Real Madrid’s match against Racing Santander, as part of an urgent review of three controversial incidents from the latest round of fixtures.
The incident occurred at El Sardinero, where referee Jose Luis Munuera Montero pointed to the spot after a challenge involving Mbappe. The decision prompted widespread debate over whether the Real Madrid forward had been fouled and whether the penalty was justified.
The committee will also analyse a separate decision from the Basque derby between Athletic Club and Real Sociedad. Referee Alejandro Hernandez awarded Athletic Club a penalty after contact between Aramburu and Nico Williams. The decision was not overturned by the video assistant referee, Carlos del Cerro Grande.
The meeting will be chaired by Fran Soto and will include former international referee David Fernandez Borbalan, experts Fernando Lopez and Aitor Gorostegui, and VAR chief Eduardo Prieto Iglesias.
Two key questions over the Real Madrid penalty
According to Mundo Deportivo, the committee’s first detailed review will focus on the incident at El Sardinero. The discussion is expected to centre on two issues: whether the contact from defender Bratti was sufficient to bring down Mbappe, and whether VAR official Luis Mario Milla should have intervened and asked the referee to review the footage.
Under the existing protocol, the VAR team does not intervene when there is any level of contact unless it considers the on-field decision to be a clear and obvious error. The committee will therefore assess both the nature of the challenge and the threshold for a possible VAR review.
The Athletic Club decision will also be examined. Hernandez was close to the incident, while television coverage showed that the smart Kinexon ball-tracking technology, introduced in La Liga this season, indicated that the Real Sociedad player had not touched the ball.
That information is understood to support the decision not to send Hernandez to the pitchside monitor. The penalty contributed to Athletic Club’s second goal in the derby.
Getafe goal also under review
The committee’s work will not be limited to those two penalty decisions. It will also consider a controversial incident involving a Getafe goal, which followed contact between Andres Garcia and Manu Bueno.
Garcia Verdura initially awarded a foul after a request from his assistant, but the decision came after Getafe’s attacking move had ended with the ball in the net. VAR subsequently concluded that no foul had been committed, meaning the goal should have been allowed to stand.
All three incidents are expected to be discussed during the “review time” sessions held every Tuesday. Their inclusion will depend on whether they meet the criteria established by La Liga’s artificial intelligence system.
