Real Madrid: Ceballos and Carvajal break silence on El Clasico refereeing

The Blancos lost a crucial game to Barcelona as they slipped 12 points behind Barca on the league table.

Real Madrid midfielder Deni Ceballos has insisted Gavi should have received a red card for his off-the-ball foul in El Clasico.

Barcelona managed to beat Real Madrid 2-1 in their league game on Sunday. As expected, the game saw midfielders from both sides engage in physical battles.

Ceballos’ off-the-ball challenge on Robert Lewandowski, however, was enough to trigger Gavi to do the same to the Real Madrid star.

Gavi body-checked Ceballos off the ball, but the referee didn’t see the incident. Speaking on Tuesday, the Real Madrid midfielder said the foul should have ended in a “clear red card” for Gavi.

The foul wasn’t the only controversial incident in El Clasico. Real Madrid scored a second goal through Marco Asensio, but VAR ruled out the referee’s initial decision.

The close offside call was enough to enrage Real Madrid fans. But Dani Carvajal believes the final call was correct.

He said: “Offside technology? We have to dedicate ourselves to playing. It was considered offside [Asensio’s goal] and that’s because it was like that. We do not doubt the system at any time.”

Both Ceballos and Carvajal have received call-ups for Spain’s upcoming Euro 2024 qualifiers against Norway and Scotland.