A red card issued to João Félix was the main talking point after Atletico Madrid’s goalless draw against Athletic Bilbao in La Liga on Saturday.
Substitute Félix, who entered the play after an hour, was sent off in the 78th minute for two yellow cards in the space of a few seconds. Having been booked for being adjudged to brush an opponent in the face, Félix quickly received a second caution for pointing his finger towards his temple in the direction of referee Gil Manzano.
Much of the reaction around Atletico has focused on hostility towards the official, with Manzano already owning a negative reputation amongst the club’s fans. Atleti striker Diego Costa received an eight-match suspension in April 2019 after Manzano sent Costa off and wrote in his report that the player had verbally abused Manzano’s mother.
Atletico Sporting director Andrea Berta entered the pitch on Saturday and is reported to have said Manzano should “never again” return to the Wanda Metropolitano. Coach Diego Simeone told journalists after the match that he had told Manzano to calm down, adding “he felt he had to send him off, but had it been another player doing the same I don’t think he would have felt that.”
Joao Felix was sent off after receiving two yellow cards in the space of ten seconds against Athletic Bilbao 😳 pic.twitter.com/2bTG4M5BTH
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) September 18, 2021
The most vehement response to the incident came from the Unión de Peñas, Atletico’s main supporters club, who released a statement in which they “wish to register its most energetic protest against the evident persecution that our club is being subjected to by a character, which is as dark as it is harmful” before adding “it is impossible the lack of impartiality whenever he's refereeing Atleti is due to mere chance, it seems clear that this individual enjoys permanently mistreating our players with an attitude which is in betrayal of the competition.”
Atletico defender Stefan Sabic told reporters that he did not believe the first yellow was fair. “You can see that when João Félix runs, he has no intention of touching [the opponent] and it’s not a yellow. We say things and they have to understand that sometimes a word can be said out of place. It doesn't seem normal to me that every word means a yellow card. In all the games there is protest and if each word is yellow, no team ends with eleven.”
Now Atletico and Félix must wait to see if the initial one-match suspension will be extended, particularly after Manzano included in his referee’s report that the player when leaving the field “kicked a bottle in clear dissent”. The hope within the club is that the former Benfica man will miss just one match, which would be Tuesday’s trip to Getafe.
Simeone mentioned in his press duties that he was happy with the way Félix performed after coming on ahead of the sending off. Yet the setback, however minor, is another frustrating episode for the Portuguese, who has so far endured a 2021 with plenty of ups and downs.
By Sean Gillen
