Gayà disputes his red card and the foul called on Maffeo

“It wasn’t a red […] and there was no foul by Maffeo on Mbappé,” José Luis Gayà said after Valencia-Real Madrid. Valencia’s captain questioned several refereeing decisions: sent off by Francisco José Hernández Maeso for a challenge on Mbappé, he disputed both his own red card and the foul given against Maffeo, which preceded Real Madrid’s first goal.

Gayà said he had not seen the incident that led to his dismissal. “People who watched it on television told me it wasn’t a red,” he said. He added that Guido had told him the decision was for the challenge, not for being the last defender. The captain said he had not understood at the time why the referee had sent him off. He acknowledged that he meant to stop the French forward’s progress, but denied making a reckless challenge. In his view, he was trying to break up play and did not intend to hurt him.

The Valencia player also disagreed with the whistle against Maffeo in the move that led to Real Madrid’s opening goal. “You can see Maffeo and Mbappé jostling, with Maffeo using his body; to me, that isn’t a foul,” he said. He added that the yellow card shown to Maffeo affected the rest of his match. On the rebound that followed, Gayà conceded that Fede Valverde had reacted faster than Valencia’s players and that they should have closed him down sooner to prevent him from getting his shot away.

Beyond the refereeing decisions, Gayà felt Valencia had started well, with the intensity required against Real Madrid at Mestalla. But, he said, the first goal hurt his side, before a second followed quickly. The captain also described a difficult spell at Mestalla, where Valencia have yet to win. After their away victory against Elche, the team had hoped this match would be a turning point, but that did not happen.

Gayà urged his team to keep going. Valencia are now focused on the Copa match, before approaching the game at Vallecas with the intensity and desire they showed against Elche, aiming to turn their situation around.