Alvaro Arbeloa launched a furious attack on the officials after Real Madrid were held to a 1-1 draw by Girona, insisting Kylian Mbappe was denied a “crystal clear” penalty that would have been given “here and on the moon.”
The result leaves Madrid’s La Liga title hopes hanging by a thread. But the post match focus was not on tactics or missed chances. It was on yet another controversial decision that went against the champions.
Mbappe appeared to be wiped out inside the box late on. No penalty. No VAR intervention. Just disbelief.
Arbeloa did not hold back.
‘Another one, another week’
The Madrid boss was asked about the incident and delivered a response dripping with frustration.
“To me, that’s a penalty here and on the moon,” he said. “And… well, it’s just another one. Another one, another week. That’s the way it is, and that’s just how it goes.”
The sense of injustice is not new. Madrid have been complaining about refereeing decisions for weeks. The Mallorca game. Now this. Same story, different week.
Arbeloa went further, openly questioning the consistency of VAR.
“I don’t even understand it, and I don’t think… anyone does,” he admitted.
“When VAR intervenes… I guess it’s when it’s convenient, and when it’s not, well, it doesn’t.
“It’s a play that, to me, is crystal clear. They called a foul on Kylian in the first half that, to me, was less than a penalty. And that’s it.
“We’ve had a lot of issues with the referees. With this one… last week in Mallorca… well… same old story.”
Asked if he had spoken to the referee after the game, his response was brief: “No, no. Absolutely nothing.”
Vinicius, Mbappe and the attacking slump
Despite the officiating controversy, Arbeloa refused to blame the result solely on the referee. He acknowledged that his attacking stars are not firing.
“I can’t worry about Mbappe and Vinicius’s stats,” he said. “We need to improve as a team in many areas, and hopefully on Wednesday we can put an end to our slumps and be more clinical in front of goal.”
The numbers do not lie. Madrid have scored just once in their last two league games. The fluency has gone. The confidence is wavering. And the title is slipping away.
Camavinga experiment, Bellingham update
Arbeloa also explained his decision to deploy Eduardo Camavinga in a deeper role.
“I wanted to see Eduardo in that position,” he said. “He feels very comfortable as a defensive midfielder, and he understands that that’s the position where he performs best.
“For me, it was important to see him, to make sure he understands what I want from that position.”
On Jude Bellingham, who returned to the starting lineup after injury, Arbeloa was cautiously optimistic.
“We’ll see, we’ll see on Wednesday. But yes, I think Bellingham has looked good. Agile, confident.
“Right now he’s pretty, pretty tired, as you’d expect. Because after being out for so long, this was the first game he started.”
‘We fight until the last day’
The draw leaves Madrid on the brink in the title race. Barcelona are pulling away. The gap is significant.
But Arbeloa is not throwing in the towel.
“No, I’ll only feel that way on the day we lose it,” he said when asked if La Liga was over. “Until we lose it, we’ll keep fighting.
“If we do lose it one day, we’ll have no choice but to go out in every match to defend our badge and put our best foot forward. That’s Real Madrid. So, right up until the very last day, we have to fight.”
It is the kind of defiance you expect from a Madrid manager. But defiance alone will not close the gap.
They need goals. They need consistency. And they need refereeing decisions to start going their way.
On current evidence, none of those things are coming any time soon.
