SOFYAN AMRABAT was at the centre of a major controversy after a mix-up in the Betis vs Real Sociedad match, which saw his teammate Natan escape being sent off.
The mistake, which left both teams and fans baffled, occurred in the 34th minute when Natan fouled Oyarzabal, picking up a yellow card for stopping a counter-attack.
Sofyan Amrabat was wrongly shown a yellow card which then led to controversy in the game
Natan right celebrating with Antony committed the foul but Amrabat was shown the yellow card instead
Amrabat spent the 2023/2024 season at Manchester United
However, instead of booking Natan, referee Mateo Busquets Ferrer showed the yellow card to Amrabat, who was not involved in the foul.
As the match continued, Natan was booked again in the 38th minute for a foul on Kubo, which would normally have led to a red card and his dismissal.
But once again, there was no red card and the confusion deepened.
Real Sociedad players were the first to notice something was wrong and went to the referee for an explanation, but nothing changed.
The game resumed with both teams still playing with 11 men.
TV broadcasts and stats providers also flagged the error, clearly showing that it was Natan who had committed the foul on Oyarzabal, while Amrabat only made minimal contact as Oyarzabal was already falling.
The situation could have seen Betis go down to 10 men for the remainder of the match but thanks to the referee’s mistake, the game carried on as normal.
According to VAR rules, “mistaken identity” is one of the incidents that can be reviewed and corrected.
However, in this case, VAR did not intervene and the error went uncorrected.
Fans and players were left frustrated by the lack of action, which only added to the controversy surrounding the match which Betis won 3-1.
This isn’t the first time Amrabat has been involved in a sending-off controversy.
Back in January 2024,
The then-Manchester United loanee picked up a yellow card in the 64th minute of the game.
Then, in the 94th minute, with the score at 1-0, Amrabat was penalised again for a foul as the last defender.
The midfielder was initially dismissed with a second yellow card by referee Mahmood Ali Mahmood Ismail.
VAR then checked the decision and after a lengthy delay, called Amrabat back onto the pitch.
However, instead of rescinding the yellow card and allowing him to finish the match, the video officials recommended a straight red card for the then Man Utd ace.
