Madrid’s 4-1 victory over Sevilla has continued to echo beyond the Bernabéu, with the visitors’ complaints focused on two incidents that preceded key moments in the match. The debate grew when LaLiga director Sergio Carranza confirmed that the host broadcaster possessed further angles of the disputed challenges but chose not to air them during the live coverage.
Carranza said the production team had approximately 26 cameras available for the fixture. Footage existed of the incidents involving Real Madrid’s Arda Güler and Ibrahima Konaté, he acknowledged, but the editorial decision at the time was to follow the referee’s judgement and stay with the ensuing goal sequence.
“That replay could have been considered, but the call then was not to show it and to show the goal,” Carranza explained. “It was understood that the matter had been settled, that the referee had judged it was not a foul, and we moved on. It was an editorial choice by the outside-broadcast unit.”
Sevilla’s strongest objections centred on contact by Güler against Peque, an incident which prompted calls for the Turkish midfielder to be dismissed. A separate challenge involving Konaté also drew criticism and questions over whether a foul should have been awarded.
On the Güler incident, Carranza said VAR did not examine it as a possible foul because the ball was around 30 metres away when the contact occurred. In Konaté’s case, the production respected the on-field referee’s reading of the challenge, with no infringement identified at that point.
The broadcast decision behind Mbappé’s goal
Carranza rejected suggestions that LaLiga’s television operation selectively withholds images or works under outside instruction. He insisted the directors receive no orders on which replays to show, and said every member of the production team approaches the job without club loyalties.
“We work without any kind of pressure,” he said. “There is no instruction telling us to show or not show something. It is disappointing to hear claims that we keep replays back. The teams try to do their best work, and everyone leaves their scarf aside.”
He added that the live match must take priority over extended replay packages. With play allowed to continue after the referee’s decision, Mbappé’s goal followed, and the broadcast remained with that decisive development rather than returning immediately to the disputed action. Carranza said the pictures would have been located and shown had VAR stopped the game for a review.
