Atlético Madrid have reopened the row surrounding the Metropolitano derby after Real Madrid included Federico Valverde in their squad to face Villarreal, despite the midfielder having been diagnosed with a grade-three ankle sprain following Kang-in Lee’s challenge.
Key takeaways
- Valverde missed the international window after Real Madrid confirmed a serious sprain to his ankle.
- Atlético believe Kang-in Lee’s tackle should have brought a red card during the derby.
- Referee Ortiz Arias did not punish the incident as a sending-off offence, while VAR official Trujillo Suárez also took no action.
- Mourinho had described Valverde as a doubt for the Villarreal match before he was named in the travelling group.
- Atlético questioned the speed of the player’s return in a pointed social-media message.
A derby incident returns to focus
The flashpoint came in the Metropolitano meeting when Valverde was injured after a challenge by Kang-in Lee. Atlético’s view is that the nature of the tackle warranted a dismissal, but Ortiz Arias did not judge it severe enough for a red card.
There was no intervention from the video room either, with Trujillo Suárez on VAR duty. The decision has now regained attention because of Valverde’s rapid availability for club football.
Real Madrid had stated in a medical update that the Uruguay international had suffered a grade-three sprain, an injury which ruled him out of his national team’s FIFA-window fixtures.
Atlético aim a social-media barb
On Friday, Mourinho said Valverde remained uncertain for the following day’s game against Villarreal. He was nevertheless included in the match squad.
Atlético responded late in the evening with a sarcastic post questioning the medical assessment. The club said it wished to congratulate Real Madrid for “making history” by proving that “100% of the world’s medical community” had been mistaken.
The message was accompanied by hashtags referring to a “miraculous recovery”, the medical report and the grade-three sprain, ensuring that a derby dispute carried on into another important week of the European season.
