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- Atletico had Stefan Savic sent off in extra time in the 3-1 defeat but were angry that Ceballos was not shown a second yellow card in the second half of the regulation 90 minutes
MADRID: Atletico Madrid CEO Miguel Angel Gil Marin complained that Real Madrid鈥檚 鈥渉uge influence鈥� exerts pressure on Spanish referees after his side鈥檚 Copa del Rey defeat, a suggestion dismissed by the victors.
Los Blancos beat Atletico in the cup quarterfinal derby clash on Thursday night and Atletico were convinced that Dani Ceballos should have been sent off at the Santiago Bernabeu.
鈥淚 have full respect for all the officials and I am convinced they always have the best of intentions, but anyone looking in from the outside can see that for decades the same thing almost always happens,鈥� said Gil Marin in a statement. 鈥淯nfortunately, it doesn鈥檛 surprise anybody anymore, it isn鈥檛 news. It鈥檚 very clear and you just have to look back at history.
鈥淢adrid are a club with a huge influence, with a lot of interests around them. They create so much pressure that it鈥檚 normal that it affects the people who have to take decisions.鈥�
The officials are 鈥渁ware of what awaits them if they harm them with a mistake, or even if they get something right. We often see a campaign against whoever they believe has hurt them,鈥� Gil Marin added
The Atletico boss said his club cannot change the 鈥渟ystem鈥� alone and that the color of a team鈥檚 shirt should not have an impact on fair decision-making.
Atletico had Stefan Savic sent off in extra time in the 3-1 defeat but were angry that Ceballos was not shown a second yellow card in the second half of the regulation 90 minutes.
鈥淭he second yellow was obvious, undoubtable,鈥� Marin insisted.
鈥淏ut at 1-0 down in the 71st minute, playing for the semis of the cup in their own stadium, it would be a big thing to leave Madrid with 10 players.鈥�
Atletico, out of the Champions League and the Spanish Cup are languishing in fourth, 13 points behind La Liga leaders Barcelona, having played an extra game.
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti dismissed Atletico鈥檚 concerns in a news conference on Saturday.
鈥淚t was a hard-fought, even game, I think for our part we deserved to win,鈥� said the Italian.
鈥淭he rest is topics I won鈥檛 speak about. The only 鈥榮ystem鈥� I know is the one that I will use tomorrow.鈥�
Real Madrid, second in La Liga, face third place Real Sociedad on Sunday night.