Referee Backlash: Real Madrid escape red card and penalty in AC Milan defeat

Real Madrid went down without much of a fight on Tuesday night against AC Milan, save for a disallowed strike from Antonio Rudiger, and a late effort blazed over by Eder Militao. Rival fans have been pointing out that Los Blancos could have suffered more though.

In the first half, Rudiger escaped without a VAR intervention, as he locked up his Milan marker by his body and neck, in what looked more akin to a wrestling hold than a little contact at the corner.

Meanwhile in the second half, Vinicius Junior was booked for dissent after telling the referee that he was crazy, and signalling as much with his hand. He was initially booked, and continued to tell the referee Slavko Vincic that he was crazy, which as Archivo VAR point out, is an offense that can and has seen others sent off for.

Finally, Jude Bellingham got into it last season with referee Pablo Gonzalez Fuertes, he did nit take too kindly to the linesman on Tuesday. After he was flagged offside, he could be seen telling the linesman to ‘f*** off’, for which he also escaped punishment.

Dissent is often handled inconsistently in both La Liga and in the Champions League, but the demonstrative nature of their protests would no doubt land them in trouble by the letter of the law. All the same, nobody wants to see players sent off for dissent, rather just keep it in check.