Madrid Derby: Two Printed Photos, a Defeat and the Big VAR Question

The Madrid derby at the Metropolitano ended with the scoreboard showing 1-2. But in the press room, the most noticed thing was not the goals, but two printed images. The Real Madrid coach placed them on the table, then pointed at each frame, as if to say: some things do not appear on the scoreboard, but they decide everything. There were two penalty-area incidents: a tackle into Bellingham's knee, and a stamp on Valverde's leg. In his opinion, both deserved red cards. But referee Ortiz Arias only showed a yellow card to Romero, and the second incident was completely ignored. Those images came after an unusual match. This was the Madrid derby, La Liga round 7, with Atletico Madrid hosting Real Madrid. The hosts won 2-1, while the visitors dropped to fourth place, six points behind leaders Barcelona. A six-point gap early in the season is not a huge shock, but it creates immediate pressure. Real Madrid had to play a man down early, falling into an 11-vs-10 situation. They could not play their usual style, and were forced to defend deep and wait for opponent mistakes. In football, some matches have no spectators, but the pulse remains. Even watching from afar in Busan, I could hear that pulse through the whistle, the ball touching the turf, and the tension in every duel. The first incident came in the 35th minute. VAR intervened, the referee overturned his initial decision and confirmed a yellow card for Romero after a studs-up challenge on Bellingham. This was one of those rare moments when technology worked properly. But nine minutes later, in the 44th minute, a stamp on Valverde's leg in front of the penalty area was not reviewed at all. No whistle, no screen, no VAR. The Spanish Refereeing Committee (CTA) later admitted this was a serious mistake, and that a red card should have been shown. The story did not stop there, because the CTA also acknowledged that Real Madrid defender Huijsen had escaped another red card inside the box. So errors went in both directions. This shows the problem is not that the referee favored one team, but the consistency of VAR operations. For the Real Madrid coach, the two incidents involving Bellingham and Valverde were clear red cards. He brought printed images to the press conference as evidence. His words were even stronger: “We do not know if there is something shady here.” This kind of insinuation can bring disciplinary risk. But it also reflects a growing mood in Spanish football: trust in VAR is declining. Whenever a match sees two similar incidents handled differently, people no longer watch the pitch, but the screen. VAR has become an indispensable character, yet it cannot be judged. This is the grey area technology creates, a grey area not in the laws, but in human decision-making. Many Real Madrid fans think their team is the victim. But the CTA's admission regarding Huijsen breaks that one-sided story. Looking at the whole match footage, referee Ortiz Arias was unfair to both sides. That does not excuse his mistakes, but it shows the problem lies in flawed procedures, not individual intent. I have 23 years of watching matches, from empty training grounds to the night in Kazan when South Korea beat Germany. I learned that football does not lie. But the person with the whistle can distort the pulse of a match. Every player has his own rhythm; for Bellingham, it is explosion; for Valverde, silent endurance. Both deserved to be protected by VAR. Meanwhile, in another corner of the match, Lee Kang In appeared in an incident that caught the attention of Korean fans. Not because of technique, but because the referee failed to make a decisive call. Giuliano Simeone was also among the players affected by the tense atmosphere. This shows the derby was not only a story of two Madrid clubs, but also of individuals caught in a vortex of controversy. This derby leaves more questions than answers. Will the CTA review Ortiz Arias' decisions? Will the Real Madrid coach be sanctioned for his insinuation? Will referees be asked to explain openly? The answers may come in the coming days. But one thing we do not need to wait for: the pulse of the match is still there. Not every match has spectators. But every match has someone keeping the rhythm. There are things that do not appear on the scoreboard, but decide everything. And from Busan to the World Cup, I have learned that football does not lie. If there is a liar, it is only the way we read the game.