Espanyol defender that almost ends Mbappe’s career ‘asks for forgiveness’ after ugly challenge on Real Madrid star

Defender Carlos Romero played a crucial role in Espanyol’s recent match against Real Madrid, which sparked significant controversy.
The left-back admitted that his attempt to stop Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe was not ideal and acknowledged that his actions were a bit aggressive. Nevertheless, his defensive play became one of the talking points of the match.
The incident in question occurred during a tense moment when Romero made a rough challenge to Mbappe.
Real Madrid were left frustrated as the referee chose not to send him off, a decision that did not sit well with the club. To add insult to injury, Romero later scored a decisive goal for Espanyol, intensifying Real Madrid’s discontent.
After the match, Romero expressed his view of the situation, admitting that stopping Mbappe was a challenging task.
Although he acknowledged his approach wasn’t perfect, he did his best to prevent the French forward from advancing.
Romero stated that his actions were in the heat of the game, and he even extended an apology to Mbappe following the encounter.
“I knew it was impossible to stop Kylian by any means, I tried to stop him as best I could. It was a bit ugly and I asked her for forgiveness,” he said as quoted by SPORT.
Mbappe was sprinting down the wing when he was fouled from behind by Romero. The Madrid players immediately appealed for a direct red card, believing it was a dangerous challenge on their star player.
Eduardo Iturralde Gonzalez, a former referee, shared his opinion on the incident, agreeing with Madrid’s anger. He described the challenge as a clear red card and one of the worst tackles he had seen in a long time.
Iturralde emphasized that if Romero had caught Mbappe properly, the outcome could have been far more serious, potentially ruining the player’s career.
“It’s a very red and even redder red. And the referee has to see it. It’s one of the worst tackles I’ve seen in a long time. If he catches him well, it could ruin Mbappe’s career,” he said as quoted by Mundo Deportivo.
His comments didn’t stop there, as he also took the opportunity to criticize the current state of the VAR system. Iturralde expressed frustration with how former referees are being assigned to VAR duties.
He argued that the system should not serve as a ‘pension plan’ for retired referees, adding that the current approach was not good enough for the game.
Mbappe made his feelings known about Romero’s cynical challenge when quizzed about it, the Frenchman remained silent, but his gesture told the full story he gave a slight shrug as he walked through the mixed zone after losing 1-0. That was before gesturing that he didn’t want to talk about the matter by zipping his mouth shut.