Real Madrid, undisputed leader in penalties

The sensations belong to each one. They are subjective. There are opinions for everyone. There may even be different truths. But statistics does not understand colors or emotions. The cold data reflects a numerical reality. Nobody can argue that the League title is once again very close, with only one point ahead of Barça over Real Madrid. As evident as the whites are the undisputed leaders in one section: the Madrid team is the one that has had the most penalties so far, a total of six, and is one of the two teams, along with Rayo, that has not been whistled for the moment a maximum penalty against.

Mbappé (3), Vinícius (2) and Bellingham (1), on Sunday against Getafe, have increased their scoring record from eleven meters in 14 games, one less than their rivals for the title. The white figures contrast with those of the leader, Barça, who despite being the most offensive team have only enjoyed three shots from the fatal spot and have suffered two against. Atlético, for its part, has been awarded a penalty in favor and another against.

“There is a pressure factor because of the team in front of you. That does not mean that a referee wants to favor one or the other. I believe little in coincidences. It may be in specific issues, but not in trends,” former international referee Xavi Estrada explains to this newspaper. And the trend in the League is historic, with a positive balance for Madrid of 267 penalties (575 in favor and 308 against) compared to 171 for Barça (531-360).

“There is pressure for the team in front of you. That does not mean that a referee favors,” says Estrada

The penalty statistics have become more relevant after what happened last day. Madrid got their victory back on track against Getafe (2-0) with a dubious grab by Nyom on Rüdiger in a corner kick, an action in the area that occurred far from the ball. “It’s not a penalty. If it had been the other way around, would you have whistled? I think not,” the former Catalan referee speculates about what happened in Chamartín.

He also points out that the “hierarchy weighs a lot” and that the inexperienced García Verdura, VAR referee at the Bernabéu, “was given the responsibility of opposing” the field referee, the international Hernández Hernández. García Verdura’s Catalan origin did not help either, according to Estrada: “If you call the referee in a Madrid match, they will focus on your origin.”

On the other hand, Barça regretted two possible penalties in the defeat against Las Palmas (1-2) that went to limbo. “It’s a stomp, you don’t have to value anything. “You have the image and the blood of the player, what do you need more to intervene?” Estrada asks about the foul in the Mármol area against Cubarsí and the silence of the VAR, commanded in Montjuïc by Busquets Ferrer with “very few games.” in the VOR room.

“It is also a clear directive from the committee. All fouls in a corner or in a set piece must be whistled if the player is going to dispute the ball,” he concludes about an action that occurred in the 85th minute. The former referee also assures that the grab of Pau Víctor in goal mouth is a “super clear play” in which the VAR should have intervened to signal a penalty.

Beyond the controversies of matchday 15, which also includes the dubious penalty called in favor of Real Sociedad against Betis, the underlying problem is the changing criteria of the Technical Committee of Referees (CTA). “It depends on media pressure. “Sometimes he has regressed with his criteria according to the noise in the media,” he criticizes. The origin, however, dates back to 2018, the year the VAR was established in Spain.

“When the committee is directed by a person who has not refereed on the field with VAR and has not been a VAR referee, it is very difficult, if not impossible, for you to be able to incorporate these mechanisms and be able to transmit knowledge that you do not have,” Estrada ruling in reference to Medina Cantalejo, president of the CTA.