Spain referees' panel says Lee Kang-In should have seen red in Madrid derby

Spain's Technical Committee of Referees has concluded that Lee Kang-In should have been sent off in Sunday's MadridReal MadridLaLiga · Spain2nd POS27–5–6 W-D-L derby for his challenge on Federico Valverde. In the same assessment, the panel supported the decision not to show Cristian Romero a red card.

2025/26

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POS

2nd

W-D-L

27–5–6

GF

77

GA

35

Season 2025/26

What the committee found

The two conclusions point in opposite directions. On the Valverde tackle, the committee's position is that the challenge met the threshold for dismissal and that the officials handling the derby missed it. On the Romero incident, it found that no sending-off was warranted, leaving the original call intact.

The assessment is understood to have been framed as backing Real Madrid, the club named in the reporting of the decision. What sits behind that characterisation is not spelled out; the clear element is the specific finding on the Romero incident.

Why a refereeing review carries weight

Ank Kumar · CC BY-SA 4.0

Post-match reviews of this kind matter because they set the terms for whatever follows. When a committee concludes that a player should have been dismissed, the next question is whether a separate disciplinary process will now begin — and, if it does not, why a missed red card produces no further consequence.

For Lee, a finding of this sort does not alter the match itself. He was not sent off, so any punishment would have to come from a process that starts after the final whistle. For the officials, the outcome is a qualified defence: one major call upheld, one judged to have been wrong.

What is not yet known

Ank Kumar · CC BY-SA 4.0

No retrospective charge or sanction has been announced, and it is not known whether one will be. The committee's full reasoning has not been set out, nor has any timetable for a follow-up decision.

It is also not known how either player or their clubs will respond. Valverde's condition after the tackle and the precise detail of the Romero incident do not form part of the account, and the match officials involved have not been identified.

What happens next

The next development, if there is one, would be a disciplinary decision: a charge against Lee, or confirmation that the matter is closed. Until something of that kind is announced, the conclusion stands as an assessment of how the derby was refereed rather than a change to it.