Coach Alvaro Arbeloa: 'Real Madrid lost due to the referee's decision'

Coach Álvaro Arbeloa expressed outrage at the decision of Slovenian referee Slavko Vincic to disqualify Eduardo Camavinga in the final minutes of the match against Bayern Munich.

Camavinga was disqualified in the closing minutes, at a time when Real Madrid still held hope of turning the tide against the Bundesliga representative. According to Arbeloa, this was the turning point that left the Spanish Royal club with no chance to stage a comeback.

He emphasized: “Everything ended after the red card, that was very clear. You cannot dismiss a player just for such a situation. I think he might not even have known Camavinga already had a previous card, so he issued another one. But that decision ruined the entire match, during a game that was very exciting and tense. From that moment, the match was essentially over. Camavinga at that point was as disappointed as all of us.”

Despite bitterly exiting the competition, the Spanish strategist still praised the fighting spirit of his players. Arbeloa further shared: “My players played an excellent match. I feel sorry for them because of the efforts they put in. I also feel sorry for all the madridistas present at the stadium and those watching from home.

I am heartbroken that Real Madrid will not be able to win its 16th Champions League title this year, but I am immensely proud of what the whole team demonstrated. They fought with all their strength and, as I said yesterday, we return to Madrid with intact pride because the entire team gave everything.”

Additionally, Arbeloa revealed that Real Madrid was still preparing to deploy additional personnel to increase pressure in extra time, before all plans were ruined by the late-game incident. He said: “We had several opportunities to score more goals. Clearly some players were fatigued, but before conceding we were preparing to make some changes to boost energy. I think everything ended from that moment and after conceding.”

Despite being eliminated from the Champions League, Arbeloa affirmed that Real Madrid will not give up in the remainder of the season. He stressed: “Now we must continue moving forward, because this is Real Madrid. The La Liga race is very tough, everyone sees that. But I always say, even as the season is about to conclude, we must fight until the final round. We have a badge to defend and there is no other choice.”