Racing boss fuming over late red card in Eibar defeat

Racing Santander manager José Alberto López has launched a scathing attack on officiating standards after his side suffered a last-gasp 2-1 defeat at Eibar following a controversial red card.

Red card controversy

The Racing boss was left seething after defender Puerta was given his marching orders in the 86th minute with the scores level at 1-1. Initially shown a yellow card for what the referee deemed dangerous play, the decision was upgraded to a straight red following a VAR review.

The numerical advantage proved decisive as Eibar capitalised on their extra man when Álvaro Rodríguez netted a winner in the 94th minute, leaving Racing to return home empty-handed.

”Killing football”

José Alberto didn’t mince his words in the post-match press conference, suggesting such decisions are damaging the beautiful game:

“We’re killing football with these types of decisions,” he fumed, clearly frustrated by what he perceived as an overly harsh call.

The Racing gaffer went on to explain his position, arguing that even if there was contact from his player, it was minimal and certainly not worthy of the ultimate punishment:

“This is football,” he insisted, before suggesting the threshold for a sending-off should be much higher than what was displayed in the incident at Ipurua.

VAR frustrations

The controversy centred around the referee’s decision to change his mind after consulting the pitchside monitor. Castellano-Leonese official Eder Mallo initially deemed the challenge worthy of just a caution, but after reviewing footage provided by VAR, upgraded his decision to a straight red.

This left Racing down to ten men for the crucial closing stages, ultimately costing them what would have been a valuable point on the road.

For Racing, it’s another blow in their Segunda División campaign, with the manner of defeat leaving a particularly bitter taste in the mouth.