Villarreal captain Juan Foyth has defended referee Isidro Diaz de Mera Escuderos following the controversy surrounding Vinicius Jr.'s red card in Real Madrid's 1-0 victory .
The Argentine defender believes the official handled a difficult match well and considers the decision to dismiss the Brazilian correct under the rules.
The result was overshadowed by Vinicius' sending-off after he pulled Nathan Saliba's hair, with VAR intervening after the incident initially went unnoticed.
The decision prompted furious protests from the Real Madrid forward and sparked debate over the referee's handling of the match.
Foyth, however, offered a different perspective after the final whistle, arguing that the constant pressure placed on officials can make an already demanding job even harder.
Speaking after the match, Foyth defended Diaz de Mera and highlighted the difficulty of officiating a high-intensity encounter.
Juan Foyth says referee was right to dismiss Vinicius. (Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images)
"I think he did a good job. Obviously, if you spend the whole match complaining about every little thing, whatever it may be, asking for a yellow card, asking for a card.
"I think the referee is only human too and can make a mistake,"he said, as per Defensa Central .
Foyth also addressed the incident involving Vinicius, distinguishing between the Brazilian's intentions and the punishment required by the rules.
"I think that, at the very least, the decision to show Vinicius a red card was correct according to the rules. I don't think he meant to cause harm, but well, it's a red card."
Foyth was also asked about Jose Mourinho, whom he knows from their time together at Tottenham Hotspur.
Juan Foyth has words for Mourinho too. (Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images)
The Villarreal captain was reluctant to fuel a dispute but suggested that the Portuguese manager's public approach to pressure was familiar.
"I'm not going to talk about Mourinho. I know him; I played alongside him at Tottenham. Ultimately, that's always been his way – trying to apply pressure from the outside.
"He did that with us at Tottenham too, and well, in the end it works for him, doesn't it? Anyway, I've got nothing bad to say about him,"he said.
He added, "These are just different ways of understanding football; I don't want to get involved in any controversy, nor do I want to make any strange comments here,"he noted.
"Congratulations to Madrid – they got the three points – and, well, we obviously need to put right the mistakes we made,"he concluded.
