Imanol Alguacil: “The Referees Didn’t Want Us to Compete in This Tie”
Real Sociedad manager Imanol Alguacil strongly criticized the officiating following his team’s elimination from the UEFA Europa League round of 16. The Basque side lost 4-1 in the second leg against Manchester United in a match that Alguacil described as having “biased refereeing.”
The game was marred by controversial decisions, with the referee awarding three penalties to Manchester United – two of which were highly questionable – and sending off a Real Sociedad player. Additionally, the referee initially awarded a penalty to Real Sociedad but reversed the decision after a Manchester United player claimed it wasn’t a foul.
In his post-match interview, Alguacil accused the officials of directly influencing the outcome: “They didn’t want to call the clear penalty for us, but they invented and called ones that weren’t. It’s difficult like this. We didn’t deserve such officiating, neither did Manchester United, considering what was at stake in the Europa League. I’m left with the feeling that the referees didn’t want us to compete in this tie. I would have liked to see my team compete, which we did in the opening minutes, with neutral officiating, which we didn’t get.”
Real Sociedad captain Mikel Oyarzabal also commented on the refereeing: “Our elimination was heavily influenced by the three penalties called against us, none of which I believe were correct. With all that, it’s much harder to win a match; everything is affected by it.”
Defender Aritz Elustondo, who was penalized for one of the controversial decisions, expressed his frustration: “When you see the referee’s eagerness to call penalties against us and even refuse to award the clearest one in our favor, it makes you think. I felt ashamed at that moment for the penalty he called, and obviously, you’re not going to just stand there; you try to turn things around. But there were many negative feelings: helplessness, anger, sadness, because our fans didn’t deserve this, especially after we had taken the lead.”
With Real Sociedad’s elimination, Athletic Club remains the only Spanish team left in the UEFA Europa League.