Just before facing the most important game of the season, Real Madrid received some great news. In the 38th minute of the first half of the match between Alavés and Real Madrid, Kylian Mbappé was involved in a surprising and harsh action. The white player made a clearly premeditated tackle on Antonio Blanco, at the height of the calf, in a play far from the ball and without apparent competitive tension.
After the tackle, Soto Grado opted to show Mbappé a yellow card, but he was warned from the VOR room by Gil Manzano: “César, César, I recommend that you come to the monitor for a potential sending-off”. In the background, the tension on both benches can be heard while the man from La Rioja goes to the monitor: “Okay, give it to me, the impact is high. Okay. The impact is high, it’s intense, there’s twisting, it’s a red card. I’m taking the yellow card away from Kylian Mbappé and giving him a red card”.
In the report, Soto Grado wrote the following: “In the 38th minute of the match, the player Mbappé Lottin, Kylian was sent off for the following reason: For using excessive force by sticking up his foot in a plank position against an opponent’s shin while disputing the ball”.
Mbappé apologized to Antonio Blanco once the match was over, aware of how dangerous the action was and how serious an injury it could have caused him.
Now, Kylian Mbappé’s tackle on Antonio Blanco has been punished. The Frenchman will not be able to play against Athletic Bilbao as he has been sanctioned with one match. The Federation’s Disciplinary Committee has opted for the minimum sanction, as the range for which the striker could have been punished was from one to three matches.
As it is a single match, as we said, the Frenchman will only miss this weekend’s league game against Athletic, with the possibility of playing against Getafe in the middle of the week and the Copa del Rey final against Barça on the 26th.
Manu Sánchez, an Alavés player, who was also sent off in the same game, has received the same punishment of one game for the tackle he made on Vinicius.