Spanish Referees’ Committee backs yellow card for Valencia defender after challenge on Mbappé

Spain’s Technical Committee of Referees backed referee Alejandro Hernández Hernández’s decision to book Valencia defender Pablo Maffeo for his challenge on Kylian Mbappé during Real Madrid’s match against Valencia. The committee said the incident warranted a direct free kick and a yellow card, not a sending-off.

According to the explanation reported by Cadena SER, Maffeo pushed Mbappé from behind and brought him down as they competed for an aerial ball. The committee considered that the conditions for a sending-off for denying a clear goal-scoring opportunity were not met, because Mbappé was not in control of the ball when the challenge occurred; however, it judged that Maffeo had stopped a promising attack, which justified the booking.

The incident drew protests from Real Madrid players, who believed the challenge had denied Mbappé a scoring opportunity, while some Valencia fans felt that no foul should have been given. The match was played at Mestalla in the twelfth round of the Spanish league, and Real Madrid won by three goals to nil; the first goal had been scored before the challenge.