Getafe defender Abdel Abqar has been sent off for one of the strangest offences you’ll ever see, allegedly pinching an opponent’s genitals during a LaLiga clash with Atletico Madrid .
The incident happened seven minutes into the second half at the Metropolitano, with Atletico leading 1-0 through Nahuel Molina’s first half strike . Referee Miguel Ortiz Arias halted play and signalled for a VAR check.
What the replays showed was extraordinary.
THE INCIDENT
Abqar was seen clashing with Atletico striker Alexander Sorloth off the ball. The Moroccan defender nudged Sorloth as he walked past, then appeared to pinch his groin with thumb and index finger .
Sorloth didn’t go down instead, he grabbed Abqar and pulled him to the floor .
After a lengthy VAR review, Arias showed Abqar a straight red card. Sorloth received a yellow for his reaction.
ABQAR’S PLEA
The defender was adamant it was accidental.
“I want to make it clear that it wasn’t my intention to touch the player in that area,” he told Movistar LaLiga. “In football, we touch each other, we collide, but I didn’t intend to touch him there. The video clearly shows that I wasn’t looking to touch him there.”
He went further: “I swear I didn’t intend to touch him; I wanted to make contact, as happens in football. What the referee saw was that I wanted to touch him there, but it wasn’t my intention. I swear on my family that I didn’t want to touch him there.”
His explanation? He was trying to feel where Sorloth was. “They stop him there, but if you watch the video, I don’t look at him, and my hand is meant to touch his stomach, like sometimes I touch an opponent to find out where he is.”
THE DEFENCE
Getafe boss Jose Bordalas leapt to his defender’s aid: “I’ve seen the play, and from what’s said so far, I think Abqar is right. At no point was he looking at Sorloth; they were jostling throughout the match, the typical thing between a striker and a defender. Without looking, he tried to pull at his shirt and grabbed his shorts.”
THE VERDICT
Atletico keeper Juan Musso had a different view: “These are things that happened 30 years ago, the referee was right to send him off. Before you could do this, now there is no place for these things.”
Atletico held on to win 1-0, their fourth straight victory, moving them up to third in LaLiga and six points behind second place Real Madrid .
As for Abqar? He’ll have time to think about it. A red card for that is almost certainly a multi game ban.
