Athletic Club star Ander Herrera was in no mood to mince words, on the back of his side’s meeting with Villarreal this evening.
As much comes after Athletic were denied a potentially crucial three points, in altogether controversial circumstances.
Boasting a one-goal lead, and a man advantage owing to Santi Comesaña’s dismissal, Ernesto Valverde’s troops appeared to have victory over the aforementioned Villarreal wrapped up, deep into injury-time.
The entire complexion of the clash, however, soon changed, upon the visitors to San Mamés being awarded a penalty.
After Yuri Berchiche was responsible for blocking a goal-bound effort, referee Guillermo Cuadra was called to the pitch-side VAR monitor.
Upon replays of the incident appearing on the broadcast, it appeared that a simple decision was in store – no penalty.
This came after the ball rebounded off Yuri’s leg, before bouncing up onto the underside of his upper arm, near the armpit.
Bizarrely, however, it was ultimately decided that the infraction was worthy of a spot-kick, with Dani Parejo having stepped up to slot home from 12 yards, securing a share of the spoils for Villarreal in the process.
Speaking to the media post-match, it therefore came as little surprise when the subject of his side’s last-gasp setback was put to the aforementioned Ander Herrera.
And, safe to say, the former Manchester United man was not shy in making his feelings crystal clear…
“We are playing for the Champions League, leaving two points behind in this way is hard,” Herrera began, as cited by Mundo Deportivo. “I believe in the honesty of the referees, but this decision is inexplicable. Give us some ropes and we will play with our hands tied. I think it’s a brilliant challenge by Yuri, the VAR has gotten the referee into trouble. We want to be the best league in the world. This image is unfortunate. Anyone who sees this on TV will say ‘I don’t believe it’.”
Conor Laird | GSFN
