The Madrid Derby, a clash between Real Madrid and Atl\u00e9tico Madrid, is one of the most intense rivalries in football. Over the years, the fixture has seen plenty of drama, controversial decisions, and, more recently, VAR (Video Assistant Referee) controversies. Fans from both sides have debated questionable refereeing calls that have influenced the outcome of key matches.<\/p>\n
In this article, we look at some of the most controversial moments in the history of the Madrid Derby, from disputed penalties to VAR decisions that left fans furious.<\/p>\n
One of the most controversial Madrid Derby moments came in the 2016 UEFA Champions League final. Real Madrid took the lead through Sergio Ramos, but replays showed he may have been offside when he scored. The goal stood, sparking outrage among Atl\u00e9tico fans.<\/p>\n
Later in the game, Atl\u00e9tico Madrid had a chance to equalize through a penalty awarded for a foul on Fernando Torres. However, Antoine Griezmann hit the crossbar, and Los Rojiblancos missed a crucial opportunity.<\/p>\n
Real Madrid eventually won the final on penalties, securing their 11th Champions League title, but Atl\u00e9tico fans still argue that Ramos\u2019 goal should have been disallowed.<\/p>\n
In the 2022 Copa del Rey quarter-final, Atl\u00e9tico Madrid took the lead, but the match turned controversial when Dani Ceballos escaped a second yellow card after a foul on an Atl\u00e9tico player. Minutes later, Stefan Savi\u0107 was sent off, leaving Atl\u00e9tico Madrid a man down.<\/p>\n
VAR was not used to review the Ceballos incident, leading to accusations of refereeing bias in favor of Real Madrid. With the extra man advantage, Los Blancos made a comeback and won 3-1 after extra time, knocking Atl\u00e9tico out of the competition.<\/p>\n
The 2017 La Liga encounter at the Santiago Bernab\u00e9u saw another moment of controversy. Cristiano Ronaldo thought he had scored, only for the goal to be ruled out for offside.<\/p>\n
However, replays suggested that Ronaldo was onside, leading to heated debates about whether the referee had made a mistake. The match ended 1-1, with Griezmann scoring a late equalizer for Atl\u00e9tico.<\/p>\n
If VAR had been in place at the time, Ronaldo\u2019s goal might have stood, changing the outcome of the title race that season.<\/p>\n
In the 2019 La Liga derby, former Real Madrid striker \u00c1lvaro Morata, then playing for Atl\u00e9tico, was denied a penalty after a challenge by Casemiro.<\/p>\n
Despite VAR being available, the referee did not award the penalty, sparking protests from Atl\u00e9tico players and fans. To make matters worse, Real Madrid went on to win the game 3-1, leaving Atl\u00e9tico furious with the officiating decisions.<\/p>\n
In a 2023 La Liga meeting, \u00c1ngel Correa was sent off for elbowing Antonio R\u00fcdiger, a decision that sparked huge controversy. Atl\u00e9tico Madrid players protested, claiming the contact was minimal and did not warrant a straight red card.<\/p>\n
Real Madrid later equalized in the dying minutes, and the match ended 1-1. Atl\u00e9tico felt robbed, arguing that the referee had been too quick to make a decisive call without properly reviewing the incident.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Madrid Derby, a clash between Real Madrid and Atl\u00e9tico Madrid, is one of the most intense rivalries in football\u2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":217,"featured_media":36385,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[2919],"class_list":["post-14930","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-football","tag-madrid-derby"],"reading_time":"3 min read","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14930","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/217"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14930"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14930\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36385"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14930"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14930"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14930"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}