MADRID, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- Real Madrid travels to play Leganes in the quarterfinal of the Copa del Rey on Wednesday with the club surrounded in a controversy over refereeing decisions that have gone against them.
Real Madrid's 1-0 defeat to Espanyol on Saturday night came after they failed to take a host of chances, with Espanyol left back Carlos Romero scoring the only goal of the game six minutes from time.
Madrid, however, was furious the full back was still on the pitch after only seeing a yellow card for a lunge at Kylian Mbappe from behind around 15 minutes before the goal.
Romero looked to stop Mbappe counter-attacking and his challenge was high, late and caught Mbappe with his studs, meaning he should have seen a red card leaving Espanyol with 10 men and probably changing the outcome of the game.
The La Liga leader sent an official complaint to the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) complaining about the "culmination of a system of refereeing that has lost all credit, in which decisions against Real Madrid have reached a level of manipulation and adulteration of the competition."
The club's letter ignores the fact that Madrid has been given 10 penalties in La Liga this season (more than any side) with zero given against them, and forgets recent refereeing mistakes that have favored the club, such as the failure to give Celta Vigo a clear penalty in the last round of the Copa del Rey, at the start of a move that ended with Mbappe scoring the first goal of the game, where Celta also had a goal ruled out for a dubious offside.
The RFEF have responded with a communique in which they "deeply lament the tone and the seriousness of the accusations, which question the honor of referees and the functioning of the competition."
The controversy means Javier Alverola Rojas will be under huge pressure when he referees Wednesday's game in the Butarque Stadium.
Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti Will probably make some rotations to his starting 11 with half an eye on Saturday's vital Madrid derby in La Liga at home to Atletico Madrid, where the leadership is in play. That game is then followed by a visit to play Manchester City in the first leg of their Champions League play-off.
Brahim Diaz and Arda Guler will probably start, while Ancelotti has to find a reliable defensive partnership after Antonio Rudiger's hamstring injury, with Raul Asencio likely to partner either David Alaba or Aurelien Tchouameni in the back four, with Fran Garcia at left back and Lucas Vazquez on the right. ■
