There were a handful of controversial refereeing calls during Real Madrid’s 2-1 defeat to Levante at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano but none more so than the penalty awarded to the visitors in the second half.
Referee David Medie Jimenez initially gave a freekick for Vinicius Junior’s challenge on Carlos Clerc on the edge of the penalty area.
However, after consulting with VAR in his ear, the official pointed to the spot, much to the surprise of the home team.
Some of the Real Madrid players in the stands got out of their seats and called on the referee to look at the incident on the pitchside monitor.
“Look at it, it’s outside [the box], it’s outside!” came the shouts from the stands.
Alerted by their teammates off the pitch, the likes of Karim Benzema, Luka Modric and Toni Kroos approached Jimenez to protest the decision.
The referee did not to go the monitor to review the incident and instead continued with the awarding of the penalty.
“What a joke, what a joke!” cried the players in the stands.
Roger Marti took the penalty but saw his effort saved by Thibaut Courtois to keep the scores level.
