“2 obvious red cards” – Villarreal manager fuming after Tottenham defeat, criticises referee
“2 obvious red cards” – Villarreal manager fuming after Tottenham defeat, criticises referee
Tottenham Hotspur started the Champions League campaign with a 1-0 win over Villarreal at home on Tuesday and the visitor’s manager, Marcelino, was critical of referee Rade Obrenovic.
Marcelino is of the belief that two Tottenham players should have been sent off and is unhappy with Obrenovic.
The La Liga club’s coach made his feeling clear after the match and Castellón al Día have relayed his comments.
“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,” he said.
According to the outlet, the manager was referring to two incidents involving Tottenham’s Micky Van de Ven and Xavi Simons in the second half.
Marcelino felt the centre-back should have sent off for his foul on Georges Mikautadze at the end of the match and Simons should have received a second yellow.
Tottenham had one shot on target, and their goal came due to an error from Villarreal goalkeeper Luiz Júnior [own goal]. The manager insists the result wasn’t fair for his side.
“Having left Tottenham with almost no scoring chances and no control of the match. Very sad not to have at least scored a point,” Marcelino explained.
“When you lose, you’re not happy, and even more so when you see what happened. I don’t think the loss is fair, but football is about goals, and Tottenham scored one more than us.”
Villarreal defender Santiago Mouriño is upset that Júnior’s mistake allowed Tottenham to take the lead.
“These are the first matches, and my teammates are getting to know each other. They found the goal from one of our mistakes. I think we were superior,” he added, relayed by Estadio Deportivo.
“They didn’t have many shots on goal. We dominated most of the match. That’s a bit distressing, but we’re on the right track.”