Yellow cards instead of a red
On Sunday, 18 October 2026, Real Madrid hosted Sevilla FC at the Santiago Bernabéu. With the score still 0-0 in the 22nd minute, Real Madrid midfielder Arda Güler elbowed Sevilla's Peque during a scuffle near the centre of the pitch, knocking him to the ground. Peque stayed down and complained, while the Madrid player Huijsen tried to pull him up aggressively, a move Sevilla players reproached him for. Referee Mateo Busquets Ferrer booked Huijsen and Félix Correia for the melee but did not send off Arda Güler. The VAR did not review the incident on its monitor.
Replays and a former referee's anger
Eduardo Iturralde González, a former top-flight referee who now works as a referee analyst, said the broadcast showed too few close-up images of the contact. Speaking on Carrusel Deportivo on Cadena SER, he argued that a league calling itself the best in the world should have a clear replay in a stadium with 32 cameras. He said that at Alavés-Getafe, which has the cameras it has, the lack of a replay would be more understandable. He was blunt about the Bernabéu:
It's pathetic, pathetic, and let's drop the half measures.
He described the absence of a clear image of a possible assault as a scam of the league and of the broadcast.
Goals and protests in the stands
Arda Güler scored Real Madrid's first goal shortly after the incident, in the 30th minute according to ABC. Sevilla players protested a previous foul in the build-up to the second goal, but the referee did not change his decision. The key moments are set out below.
- Banner and chants from the south end against Javier Tebas and the Negreira case
- Arda Güler elbows Peque; referee books Huijsen and Félix Correia, with no red card
- Arda Güler scores Real Madrid's first goal
In the south end, where the animation stand sits, a banner read 'No es fútbol, son Tebas y Negreira', with both names in blue and garnet lettering. It was shown during the first six minutes, alongside chants including 'Corrupción en la Federación' and 'Tebas y Negreira, leave now'. About 2,000 fans in the animation stand sang along, while most of the crowd did not join in. When the public address announced referee Mateo Busquets Ferrer, from the Balearic committee, most spectators booed him.
Tebas, Mourinho and the feud
The banner links LaLiga president Javier Tebas to the Negreira case, a theme that has driven much of the Real Madrid crowd's criticism of refereeing and Spanish football institutions. Tebas has compared the communication methods of Real Madrid TV to propaganda methods associated with Goebbels, a comparison that led the club to demand his immediate resignation. José Mourinho also criticized Tebas before the match. The conflict has escalated, with accusations exchanged between the LaLiga president and the club.