Almeria players expressed their indignation over the controversial decisions of the referee in their 3-2 loss to Real Madrid on Sunday.
The visitors took a two-goal lead before the break, but Los Blancos managed to turn the game around in the second half. After the final whistle, several Almeria men hit out at the officials.
“Someone has decided that we couldn’t win here, and that’s how it turned out,” Marc Pubill told DAZN.
“We leave with the feeling that they have stolen the game from us, that’s clear.
“I think nothing more could have been done from the outside to get them into the game. There’s no way to understand it. Today goes beyond all limits.
“The linesmen have threatened us, and on top of that, they probably think they did well. It hurts a lot, but LALIGA is light years away from the Premier League.”
Edgar Gonzalez, who scored Almeria’s second goal with a tremendous strike, also complained about the refereeing.
“You see that the other team can say anything to the referee a meter away from him, and we can’t,” he noted.
“There are many differences. I understand that they are Real Madrid and we are Almeria, but… This is a competition that should be fair for everyone, and sometimes it’s hard to see it that way.
“The second goal is handball, and there is no penalty because I was fouled before. I propel myself, and there is a push that prevents me from getting up.
“If that contact is not a foul, the next one from [Jude] Bellingham, for which they disallowed our [goal to make it] 3-1, shouldn’t be either.
“We feel a great helplessness. All the decisions were for them. We are not at the bottom of the table because of the referees, but in games like this, it hurts that this happens.”
A furious Garitano
Almeria coach Gaizka Garitano, who was sent off by the referee, decided against commenting on the controversial decisions.
“I have nothing to say. I was rightly sent off because I was protesting a lot,” he noted.
“You have seen the game and what happened. My opinion? It doesn’t matter because then they sanction us for talking, and it’s useless. I didn’t say anything, but it’s true that I protested a lot, logically.”
