Real Madrid coach says, “I’ve never seen anything like this” after a goal wasn’t counted because of a super rare event.
During Real Madrid’s 1-1 Women’s Champions League game against Manchester City, something unusual happened near the end of the match that made the referee stop play just before Real Madrid scored a goal.
In the 89th minute, Real Madrid’s young left-back Silvia Cristobal took an amazing shot into the top left corner, and everyone thought Real had won. But the referee, Silvia Gasperotti, accidentally got in the way of Manchester City’s Beth Mead just before the shot. Because of this, the referee had already stopped the game, so the goal didn’t count. This is according to the official rules of the game.
This decision made Real Madrid and their coach, Pau Quesada, very unhappy. The Real Madrid bench got quite upset, with Quesada and team captain Athenea del Castillo leading the protests. Players even surrounded the referee on the field before play was restarted with a drop ball for Manchester City.
After the game, Quesada said he was frustrated because the referee blew the whistle to stop play before the shot, which meant VAR couldn’t check the incident—even though the goal should have been disallowed anyway. He said, “I’ve never seen anything like this. The referee is a great person, but she should have let the play continue.”
Because the referee got in the way, Beth Mead couldn’t pressure Cristobal or get to the ball first, which she probably would have done if the play hadn’t been stopped.
On ESPN, former Manchester City defender Nedum Onuoha said the referee made the right call and didn’t think Real Madrid’s complaints made much sense. He pointed out that you can clearly hear the whistle before the goal, showing the play was stopped fairly. Onuoha also said this situation reminds us to always “play to the whistle,” no matter which team you’re supporting.
Former Netherlands player Merel van Dongen also agreed, saying the referee’s position blocked Mead from defending properly. She said if the referee had been standing a little further away, we might have seen the goal count.
According to the official Laws of the Game, if the ball accidentally hits the referee and a promising attack starts (like Cristobal’s run and goal), the match must be stopped and a drop ball given to the team that would have had possession. The drop ball happens where the ball touched the referee.
So, while it was an unusual moment, the referee’s decision followed the rules properly.