Roca Rey and David de Miranda, carried shoulder-high with 'cheap' ears in Pamplona

Andrés Roca Rey and David de Miranda received a triumphant exit from Pamplona's Monumental bullring, carried on shoulders after each being awarded two ears. However, the awards were widely seen as undeserved, with critics labeling them "cheap" and lacking in proper judgment. The bullring president, former Pamplona mayor Cristina Ibarrola, was accused of succumbing to a "populist atmosphere" that prioritizes spectacle over the quality of bullfighting.

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two ears of very cheap criteria and rigor, in the fifth bullfight of the Sanfermines.

The controversy began with the second bull, where Roca Rey earned his first ear. While the bullfighter showed moments of skill, including a daring cape maneuver, the bull's initial lack of momentum and subsequent decline in performance made the award questionable. The second ear, which secured Roca Rey's triumphant exit, was granted despite the bull's waning energy and a less-than-perfect sword thrust.

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the unjustified concession of the second trophies to each of the performances, which at most had merits for one, came from the hand of today's president, the former mayor of the Navarrese capital Cristina Ibarrola, who joined the populist atmosphere with which bulls – very serious bulls – have been seen for some time in a square where the quality of bullfighting is the least important circumstance of what happens in the ring and in the stands.

David de Miranda's second ear, awarded for the final bull, was deemed even more inexplicable. The bull, described as large but lacking class, moved with vigor. De Miranda's performance involved light, extended passes until the bull tired, allowing for populist flourishes before a low sword thrust that itself would have made the first ear debatable.

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a great sword thrust generated that exaggerated request for two ears to which the presidency acceded, demagogically.

The rest of the corrida, held under suffocating heat, was largely unremarkable. Roca Rey struggled with a fifth bull of poor appearance and spirit, while De Miranda's third bull was short-lived. Alejandro Talavante's performance with the fourth bull was also described as linear and lacking command, focusing more on gestures for the crowd than on true bullfighting.

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even more inexplicable was the concession of the second trophy to David de Miranda in the sixth, another large bull that, without great class, repeated and moved with great liveliness in a performance in which the one from Huelva extended himself by passing it with light muletazos, until, already fatigued by the effort, the bull allowed him to get into close range for populist displays before a low sword thrust that, in itself, would have called into question the first ear.