Villarreal manager Marcelino Garcia is fuming with some refereeing decisions in his side’s Champions League clash at Tottenham, as he believes that the home side should have finished the game with nine men.
Before the game, Thomas Frank had said that he expected a tough game against a well-organised Villarreal side, and that is exactly what transpired at N17 on Tuesday.
The Spanish side gave as good as they got for the majority of the encounter, and it was only thanks to some resolute defending from the home side that they managed to emerge 1-0 winners.
There were a couple of controversial calls by referee Rade Obrenovic in the second period, which worked in Tottenham Hotspur’s favour, but the Villarreal manager is convinced he got both decisions wrong.
Marcelino Garcia says Tottenham duo should have seen red
Xavi Simons, who was already in the referee’s notebook, made a cynical foul to stop a counter-attack but escaped a second yellow, while Micky Van de Ven brought down Villarreal striker Georges Mikautadze just outside the box when he appeared to be through on goal.
Marcelino is astounded that the Dutchman was not given his marching orders by the referee, while he also suggested that Simons looked guilty after making his tackle.
Reacting to the two controversial decisions, the 60-year-old said: (via Castellon al Dia): “There were two obvious red cards, the second without any explanation. I don’t understand why an international referee wouldn’t give that red card for such a clear incident.
“The first one is also quite obvious because he has no chance of playing the ball. I can see the player’s face; he’s scared, but the referee called that, and we have to accept it.”
Marcelino accuses referee Rade Obrenovic of being biased
The Villarreal head coach suggested that the referee was biased against his side and claimed that the Van de Ven foul could retrospectively be punished by the disciplinary committee.
Marcelino told AS (via Sport Witness): “They were two blatant fouls. The second one should be dealt with by the disciplinary committee. I saw it clearly on the pitch and even more so on television.
“Simons’ foul was a kick without playing the ball. It was the second one with many minutes left to play. The referee did not have his best day. He was quite biased.”
The Spanish coach opined that his side deserved something from the game, given the performance they put in.
He added, following Villarreal’s 1-0 loss: “The result was unfair given what both teams did. I’m sad about the result but proud of how the team competed and performed against a great opponent. It’s a shame we didn’t get at least a draw. If anyone deserved to win, it was us.
“For many, it was their first Champions League experience, and they proved to themselves that they have what it takes to compete at this level.”