BARCELONA, Spain, May 23 – Spain’s refereeing committee sidelined official Ignacio Iglesias Villanueva on Tuesday for his upcoming matches after his involvement in Vinicius Junior’s red card against Valencia.
Spanish media report that the 47-year-old has been sacked although the Spanish football federation would not confirm that when questioned by AFP.
Iglesias Villanueva was in charge of VAR during Valencia’s 1-0 La Liga win over Real Madrid on Sunday, in which Los Blancos forward Vinicius was racially abused by home supporters at Mestalla.
Later in the game the 22-year-old was sent off for hitting Valencia’s Hugo Duro, after referee Ricardo De Burgos Bengoetxea watched VAR footage of a brawl between the two teams.
However the video Iglesias Villanueva showed did not include Duro grabbing the Brazilian around the neck with his arm first, which would also have been a red card offence.
Vinicius was dismissed and is poised to miss between two or three matches, which means he may not play again for Madrid this season.
The Brazilian forward was at Real Madrid’s training ground on Tuesday but not working with the rest of the team, as he will not be able to face Rayo Vallecano on Wednesday.
Iglesias Villanueva was set to be the main VAR official for Real Betis’ match against Getafe on Wednesday, and a VAR assistant for Athletic Bilbao’s visit to face Osasuna on Thursday.
