Valencia up in arms about penalty decision
Valencia coach Rafa Benitez and club president Jaime Orti were astounded by the decision to award a last-gasp penalty that enabled Real Madrid to scramble a 1-1 draw against them at the Bernabeu.
Valencia coach Rafa Benitez and club president Jaime Orti were astounded by the decision to award a last-gasp penalty that enabled Real Madrid to scramble a 1-1 draw against them at the Bernabeu.
Valencia appeared to be on course for a victory that would have allowed them to knock Real off the top of the table after Argentine defender Roberto Ayala scored with a powerful header 15 minutes from time on Sunday.
But three minutes into injury time referee Pedro Tristante Oliva awarded a penalty when Valencia defender Carlos Marchena and Real Madrid striker Raul tussled for the ball in the area.
Portuguese midfielder Luis Figo converted the spot kick.
"I can't believe they've done it again," Valencia president Jaime Orti told reporters. "I feel powerless and angry, it is a complete joke and the same thing happens every year."
"If we are going to be treated like this we might as well stay at home. Everyone saw what happened and it is a very sad day for Spanish football."
Valencia coach Benitez was equally upset by the referee's decision.
"Its hard to explain to anyone who saw the game why we didn't win," he told a post-match news conference. "You could have 100 games like that and nobody would have given that penalty."
Real Madrid coach Carlos Queiroz refused to comment on the incident, but Raul insisted that the referee had made the correct decision.
"It was a penalty," he said. "I certainly didn't dive -- there was contact."
The controversy comes in the same week that Real complained about the refereeing of their King's Cup semi-final, second leg against Sevilla in which midfielder Zinedine Zidane was sent off for striking an opponent in the face.
Real's sporting director Jorge Valdano was fined 2,000 euros by the Spanish Football Federation for confronting the referee in the tunnel at halftime.
Sevilla were also reduced to 10 men after the break when defender Javi Navarro was sent off for a second booking and although Real lost the game 1-0 they earned a place in the final thanks to their 2-0 win in the first leg at the Bernabeu.