Atletico Madrid CEO Miguel Angel Gil Marin has said Real Madrid‘s “huge influence” and the pressure it puts on referees affects their decisions, after Madrid’s 3-1 comeback win over Atletico in Thursday’s Copa del Rey quarterfinal.
Alvaro Morata put Atletico ahead in the 19th minute at the Bernabeu and Rodrygo‘s 79th-minute equaliser forced extra time, when goals from Karim Benzema and Vinicius Junior put Madrid into the semifinals. Atletico were unhappy with referee Cesar Soto Grado’s decision not to show midfielder Dani Ceballos a second yellow card for a challenge on Thomas Lemar, before sending off defender Stefan Savic at 1-1.
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“I have the utmost respect for referees and I’m convinced that they always have the best intentions,” Gil Marin said in a statement published on Atletico’s website on Friday. “But anyone who looks at it from the outside can see that for decades now, the same thing almost always happens. Unfortunately, it doesn’t surprise anybody anymore, it isn’t news.
“[Real] Madrid are a club with a huge influence, with a lot of interests around them. They create so much pressure that it’s normal that it affects the people who have to take decisions. They’re aware of what awaits them if they harm them with a mistake, or even if they get something right. We often see a campaign against whoever they believe has hurt them.”
