Villarreal's Pau Navarro blasts Getafe's tactics: 'They're rewarded for diving and screaming'
Villarreal defender launches scathing attack on Getafe's playing style and referee decisions after Yellow Submarine's defeat to the Madrid side.
A frustrated Villarreal player has taken aim at both Getafe’s tactics and officiating after his side came unstuck against La Liga’s most notorious wind-up merchants.
‘Playing into their hands’
Pau Navarro didn’t hold back when discussing how Villarreal fell into Getafe’s trap during their recent defeat. Speaking to DAZN post-match, the defender admitted his team failed to cope with Getafe’s approach.
“We needed to win far more duels, both defensively and in attack,” Navarro explained. “We got drawn too much into their game. Now we need to forget this match and focus on the next one.”
But it was his comments about Getafe’s playing style and the officiating that really turned heads.
Scathing assessment
Navarro launched into a proper broadside against what he perceives as Getafe’s cynical tactics and how they’re handled by officials:
- Suggested referees reward Getafe’s antics
- Criticised diving and screaming from opponents
- Claimed decisions consistently favor Getafe
- Acknowledged Villarreal’s own mistakes contributed to defeat
“While referees continue allowing this type of game…” Navarro began before delivering his most cutting line about how Getafe are seemingly “rewarded for diving, screaming, and fouling.”
The Yellow Submarine defender did admit his own culpability in one of the goals, acknowledging that beyond Getafe’s approach, Villarreal made too many errors at both ends of the pitch that need addressing.
Satriano’s response
Getafe’s Satriano wasn’t having any of it, dismissing Navarro’s complaints as naïve:
“This is football, you have to play it. I don’t know if this is his first time experiencing this. This is football and that’s how it is,” the Getafe man responded.
The exchange perfectly captures the division in Spanish football regarding Getafe’s approach under Bordalás. To some, they’re the ultimate party poopers using dark arts to level the playing field; to others, they’re simply employing legitimate tactics that opponents struggle to handle.
Either way, Villarreal will need to have a proper butcher’s hook at what went wrong before their next fixture, having been completely done up like a kipper by Getafe’s infamous shithouse tactics.