The Barca boss thinks Martin Braithwaite should have been awarded a spot kick after going down in the box in the 84th minute
Ronald Koeman cut short his post-match interview with Movistar+ after getting into an exchange with a reporter over a penalty no-call in Barcelona’s 2-1 El Clasico defeat on Saturday.
After declaring himself “angry” about Martin Braithwaite being told to play on upon going down in the final 10 minutes, Koeman asked the reporter whether they thought it should have been a penalty. When told the decision was up to the referees, the manager cut back, “If you want to sit on the fence, sit on the fence!” before trudging off.
Barcelona’s title hopes were slashed by the result, as Real Madrid passed them in the table and Atletico Madrid remained ahead with eight matches to go.
What happened?
Braithwaite touched the ball away from Real Madrid left-back Ferland Mendy in the 84th minute before falling to the grass with the suggestion he had been clipped from behind.
Replays appeared inconclusive, but Koema fumed following the contest and took out his frustration during his first interaction with the media.
La entrevista post partido a Koeman. #ElPartidazoDeMovistar https://t.co/2kXpZSDhJr pic.twitter.com/e013XMQbBq
— Fútbol en Movistar+ (@MovistarFutbol) April 10, 2021
What has Koeman said?
“If you want to sit on the fence, sit on the fence!” Koeman said to the Movistar+ reporter after they had not provided an opinion on the penalty shout.
Earlier in the interview, Koeman had made clear his own perspective.
“We are really angry about the situation with the penalty,” the manager said. “That’s not fair play. If you don’t give the penalty — I don’t understand that.”
❝That’s not fair play. If you don’t give the penalty — I don’t understand that.❞
— @RonaldKoeman on #ElClásico pic.twitter.com/2lXm0FaOZT— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) April 10, 2021
Koeman continued: “I only ask the referees to get decisions right. It’s a penalty and only four minutes of stoppage time was given, despite the referee having [to stop for a period] because he had a problem with his headset.
“It’s a very clear penalty. And if it had been given it’s 2-2. It’s such a clear penalty. I don’t know why we have VAR in Spain.”
How did Real Madrid respond?
“If the referee has not whistled, it is because there is no penalty,” said Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane.
“The extra time can be three, four, five or six minutes… He decides.”
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