Spanish Referees Deliver Verdict on Harambee Stars Winger's Controversial Atletico Madrid Penalty

An analysis by the Spanish Football Federation's "Tiempo de Revisión" program, which uses Artificial Intelligence to review contentious plays, has concluded that Real Sociedad was not unfairly treated in recent key decisions against Elche and Atlético de Madrid.

Real Sociedad head coach Pellegrino Matarazzo vehemently complained after the match against Atlético de Madrid, stating that his team had been harmed by refereeing decisions for three consecutive games.

The American manager pointed to a potential penalty on Gonçalo Guedes against Celta, Jon Martín's red card in Elche, and the handball penalty against Collins Ochieng in Sunday's loss.

Despite the significant debate and differing opinions among fans and officiating experts regarding the two decisive calls in the last two matches, the Federation's review program has determined that the referees made the correct decisions in both Jon Martín's dismissal and Job Ochieng's handball, as reported by Diario Vasco.

This finding suggests that Matarazzo's complaints are unfounded, even though the penalty against the Kenyan forward was just one of several contentious moments during the match officiated by Martínez Munuera.

Regarding Jon Martín's red card against Elche, where a VAR intervention overturned a Zvonimir Sucic goal that would have made it 3-0, the Technical Committee of Referees (CTA) explained its reasoning.

The analysis states that Elche's Fer Niño "steals a ball in the opponent's half," although replays show he did not have full control of the ball.

The report continues, "The Elche forward makes a backheel pass to a teammate who had a clear goal-scoring opportunity, and Jon Martín prevents the pass by intercepting the ball with his arm in an unnatural position."

Therefore, the CTA deemed it a "clear and obvious error" by the on-field referee for not initially penalising the infraction.

The committee concluded that "VAR was correct to intervene" in a play that warranted a "direct free-kick and a red card."

The review also addressed the penalty that decided the match in favor of Atlético de Madrid — a game largely controlled by Real Sociedad but with few clear chances for either side.

The "Tiempo de Revisión" program determined that "the ball lightly touches Ochieng's thigh and continues its initial trajectory, striking the Real Sociedad player's arm, which was extended and in an unnatural position."

The CTA considers the referee's decision to award a penalty correct because "it was a graze off the thigh, not a deliberate play of the ball."

Although Ochieng's attempt to control the ball indicates he intended to play it and not use his hand, the official verdict remains firm that it was a clear penalty and the correct call by the referee.