Getafe defender Abdel Abqar was shown a red card during his side’s weekend La Liga encounter against Atletico Madrid at the Metropolitano Stadium following a VAR review over an alleged off-the-ball incident.
With Atletico leading 1–0 courtesy of a first-half strike from Nahuel Molina, referee Miguel Ortiz Arias halted play after VAR alerted him to a possible infringement that occurred away from the ball.
Video replays showed Abqar involved in a brief clash with Atletico striker Alexander Sorloth. The footage appeared to show the Moroccan defender pinching Sorloth’s groin area with his thumb and index finger as he passed by.
Sorloth reacted immediately by pulling Abqar to the ground, prompting further scrutiny from the match officials.
After conducting a prolonged review at the pitchside monitor, Ortiz Arias issued a straight red card to Abqar, while Sorloth was cautioned with a yellow card.
Speaking after the match to Movistar LaLiga, Abqar denied any intent to make inappropriate contact with his opponent.
“I want to make it clear that it wasn’t my intention to touch the player in that area,” Abqar said. “In football we make contact and collide, but I did not intend to touch him there. The video shows I wasn’t looking to do that.”
The defender insisted the contact was accidental, adding that he had merely tried to make routine physical contact common in football while tracking an opponent’s position.
“I swear I didn’t intend to touch him there. My hand was meant to touch his stomach, like sometimes happens when you try to feel where an opponent is,” he said. “I want to make it clear that I didn’t mean to touch him there.”