García Plaza erupts: "Maybe they didn't want more points between us and El Clásico"
Luis García Plaza launched a fierce attack on the refereeing after Sevilla's defeat at the Santiago Bernabéu. The coach believes Rüdiger should have been sent off for an elbow and that his team deserved to play more than an hour with a man advantage. His complaints target the VAR directly and include a quote that will spark plenty of debate.
Byvarela5 min read
Luis García Plaza made no effort to hide his anger after Sevilla's defeat against Real Madrid. The Basque coach faced the media at the Santiago Bernabéu and focused his complaints on a first-half incident that, in his view, completely shaped the match: an elbow he considers a clear red card and one that left his team without the numerical advantage he believes they deserved.
- García Plaza claims Sevilla should have played with a man advantage from the 25th minute.
- The coach points directly at the VAR and takes a swipe at the points gap before El Clásico.
- He admits Real Madrid can win with ten men but insists they were denied that situation.
- He also says a foul on a Sevilla player went unpunished.
The incident that enraged García Plaza: an elbow and a possible red card
The Sevilla boss was blunt when pointing to the key moment. In his opinion, the game changed completely when the referee failed to show a red card for a challenge he described without hesitation. He demanded that Sevilla should have played eleven against ten from the 25th minute, meaning more than an hour with an extra man on the pitch.
García Plaza explained that at halftime a player kept repeating that he had been hit. For the coach, it was a clear sending-off and everything else was secondary. He stressed that the point is not to speculate about what might have happened, but to underline that the flow of the match should have been different from that moment onward.
Sevilla's complaint over the foul that was not given
Alongside the elbow, the Sevilla coach mentioned a second controversial incident. A foul on one of his players, whose name he did not specify, was not punished by the referee. Although he acknowledged it was not a red card, he stressed that it was a foul and that it took place while the score was still level.
That double reading of the officiating fuelled his frustration. For García Plaza, both decisions combined to prevent Sevilla from competing under the conditions they deserved, especially in a stadium as demanding as Real Madrid's home ground.
The swipe at VAR and the line about El Clásico
Why didn't the VAR warn them? Maybe they didn't want more points between us and El Clásico if we won.
His most forceful answer came when he was asked about the video assistant referee. The Sevilla coach hinted that the silence from the VAR room could have an uncomfortable explanation: avoiding a situation where a Sevilla victory would widen the points gap before the Clásico between Real Madrid and Barcelona.
The statement is a direct shot at the credibility of the refereeing system. García Plaza did not ask for apologies or simply lament the incident: he raised the possibility that the decision responded to interests beyond purely sporting matters.
García Plaza's track record against Real Madrid
The coach recalled a similar situation from his time at Alavés. On that occasion he also felt his side deserved to play with a numerical advantage and it did not happen. He recognizes that Real Madrid have enough quality to win even with ten players, but he maintains that Sevilla had the right to experience that scenario.
That previous experience strengthens his sense of grievance. It is not the first time he has left the Bernabéu with the suspicion that a refereeing decision damaged his team's chances, and he made that clear with a measured but loaded message.
What this defeat means for Sevilla
The Andalusian side left the Bernabéu with no points and a doubly bitter feeling. On one hand, the defeat itself; on the other, the conviction that the refereeing prevented them from competing on equal terms. García Plaza summed up the match with one central idea: nobody knows what would have happened, but the game should have been different.
The coach's reaction also reveals the accumulated frustration caused by refereeing decisions throughout the season. He spoke about games played with a man down and a man up, and about how this match was one more on that list, only this time the balance did not tip in his favor.
Frequently asked questions
What did García Plaza say about the refereeing at the Bernabéu?
The Sevilla coach claimed his team should have played with a man advantage from the 25th minute after an elbow he considered a red card. He also complained about a foul on a Sevilla player that was not given while the score was still 0-0.
Why does García Plaza mention El Clásico in his complaints?
The coach hinted that the VAR may not have intervened to avoid a Sevilla win widening the points gap with Barcelona before El Clásico. It was his way of questioning the video assistant referee's role.
Which Sevilla player was elbowed according to García Plaza?
García Plaza did not name the player in the press conference, but he made it clear that at halftime a footballer kept telling him he had been hit. The incident went unpunished despite protests from the Sevilla bench.