The rage was justified. The fury you felt watching Lee Kang-in’s reckless lunge on Federico Valverde go unpunished during Sunday’s Madrid Derby? Spain’s own refereeing authority has now backed you up — and then some.
What Happened
Spain’s Technical Committee of Referees, better known as the CTA, issued a damning admission on Tuesday confirming that Atlético Madrid’s Lee Kang-in should have been dismissed during the weekend’s Madrid Derby. The summer signing — who moved to the Spanish capital this past transfer window — was at the centre of one of the most talked-about flashpoints of the match when he directed his studs high into the ankle of Federico Valverde in what was widely regarded as a dangerous, poorly-timed challenge on the Uruguayan midfielder.
Astonishingly, the tackle was not punished with so much as a yellow card at the time. Even more jaw-dropping was the fact that VAR reviewed the incident and chose not to intervene, allowing the decision to stand. That call has now been officially categorised as a clear and manifest error. According to a Marca report citing the CTA directly, the correct on-field response should have been a “direct free kick and direct red card.” The committee also stated plainly that “the VAR should have intervened” — a remarkable public acknowledgement that the technology designed specifically to catch these moments failed to do its job.
What It Means for Real Madrid
For the Madridistas in the stands and watching at home, this confirmation will feel like cold comfort. An official admission doesn’t change the scoreline, doesn’t retroactively award Real Madrid any advantage, and certainly doesn’t soften the sting of playing through a Derby with ten men effectively in their opponent’s favour. Valverde, one of the most important engines in Real Madrid’s midfield, was subjected to a challenge that could have caused serious injury — and the player who threw it in stayed on the pitch for the remainder of the match.
This is the part that truly grates. The CTA’s post-match reviews have become almost routine in Spanish football — a pattern where major refereeing errors are quietly acknowledged after the weekend, long after they could have had any bearing on the result. For a club of Real Madrid’s stature, competing across La Liga and the Champions League simultaneously, squad fitness and availability are absolutely critical. Valverde is not just a useful player — he is one of the first names on the teamsheet, a relentless, box-to-box force who rarely misses matches. Any injury to him, especially one resulting from a challenge that should never have been allowed to remain unpunished, would have enormous consequences for the team’s ambitions this season.
There is also a broader conversation to be had about the standard of officiating in high-stakes Derby fixtures. El Derbi Madrileño is one of the most intense and physically charged matches in European club football. When the refereeing framework — including VAR — fails to properly police dangerous play in that environment, it sends a troubling message about accountability at the top level of the Spanish game.
What’s Next
As things stand, Kang-in will not face any retrospective suspension as a result of the CTA’s findings — official acknowledgement of an error does not automatically translate into disciplinary action after the fact under current La Liga protocols. That means Atlético will have their player available for upcoming fixtures, while Real Madrid can only hope for more consistent officiating going forward.
What Madrid supporters can take from this, at the very least, is validation. The challenge was dangerous. The lack of punishment was wrong. And now, the people responsible for overseeing referees in Spain have said exactly that — loudly, officially, and on the record. The system failed Real Madrid on Sunday. Whether anything changes as a result of that admission is another matter entirely.
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