Mourinho Spoke of Death and Waited for an Ambulance, but Received a Yellow Card: Dispute Erupts After Real Madrid Defeat

The biggest dispute after Real Madrid’s defeat centered on the penalty that Kylian Mbappé failed to convert. Referee Hernández awarded Madrid a spot-kick in stoppage time, but Álvaro Valles saved it. Marc Bartra reacted fastest to the rebound and cleared it for a corner before Mbappé could reach it.

Madrid’s players immediately protested. Television footage appeared to show Bartra moving into the penalty area as Mbappé took the kick, then intervening on the rebound. If he had entered illegally and influenced play, the penalty should have been retaken.

The VAR review lasted several minutes but did not intervene. Under the Spanish refereeing handbook for the 2026-27 season, a field player commits an encroachment offense if at least one foot is inside the penalty area or on its line when the kick is taken. Bartra had already leaned forward and was moving, but his foot had not yet touched the ground inside the area.

The Spanish refereeing committee later said VAR made the correct decision. The handbook also covers a special case in which a defender deliberately jumps into the area before the kick, with neither foot touching the ground. In that situation, officials assess where the player’s position would project onto the ground. That exception drove the post-match argument.

The CTA’s interpretation was that Bartra had not done this. Real Madrid’s own media took the opposite view and argued that his movement required a retake.