Tribal Football

Real Betis defender Llorente fumes: Referee laughing at players and fans

Real Betis defender Llorente fumes: Referee laughing at players and fans
Real Betis defender Llorente fumes: Referee laughing at players and fansLaLiga
Real Betis defender Diego Llorente was left furious after the derby defeat at Sevilla yesterday.

Llorente gave away a controversial hand-ball, with Dodi Lukebakio converting the resulting penalty for Sevilla's 1-0 win.

Advertisement
Advertisement

He later said: "The truth is that the penalty... I just saw the images and I don't understand anything, I don't understand anything. I have my hands down, he says that I have them open and at no time do I have my hands horizontal.

"It's not just that he calls a penalty, which is what he can interpret on the field, but that the VAR doesn't call it and on top of that tells him that I have my hands like that is disrespectful, it's really regrettable."

Asked what the referee told him, Llorente said: "You can see in the images that he said that he had his hands horizontally and I have them down and my back is to the ball. It is impossible, impossible for me to see the ball and have any intention of stopping it.

"I think we are ruining football and beyond that, the explanations given to the player are laughing at the player, laughing at the fan, at many people. A little more respect for this badge and football in general."

He added: "Well, we continued to fight, to struggle, but these are situations that you don't understand. The referees have been using VAR for a while now, there are no excuses, and in the end they are the ones who make up their minds. The explanations that we have all seen on television are lies. It's not just that you whistle it, but that they are lying to your face, it's inexplicable to me."