Clasico Chaos: What sparked the furious final scenes at the Bernabeu?
The closing stages of Sunday’s Clasico between Real Madrid adn Barcelona saw police officers intervene to separate players squaring up to each other as tempers got out of control.
It all started shortly after Pedri was sent off for a second yellow card after catching Aurelien Tchouameni in a challenge as Barca desperately pushed for an equaliser deep into time added on.
That leveller did not come, with goals from Kylian mbappe and Jude Bellingham either side of a Fermin Lopez strike sealing a 2-1 victory for Madrid, who are now five points clear of their bitter rivals in La Liga. It was a classic Clasico: full of excitement, controversy and drama.On the pitch and off it.
Pedri’s red card lit the touchpaper, and after the final whistle, confrontations continued. Madrid substitute Andriy Lunin was sent off for his role in the altercations,with six other players shown yellow cards.
Here, The Athletic breaks down the drama of the game’s frantic final throws – and the flashpoints that followed.
What happened?
When Pedri was sent off in the 99th minute for a second yellow card after a foul on Tchouameni, madrid players (including Tchouameni) commiserated with the Barca midfielder as he got to his feet.
Cameras then cut to the sidelines,where Vinicius Junior,who had been replaced,and Madrid reserve goalkeeper Lunin where squaring up to Barcelona players,including Ferran Torres and alejandro Balde.
[image of Madrid and Barca players clashing]
Federico Valverde, Eder Militao, Bellingham, antonio Rudiger and David Alaba (the last two are injured and not part of the matchday squad) were among those to run towards the barca bench, with Barca’s Raphinha (also injured) and Eric Garcia getting involved, too, along with various staff members from both sides.
As police officers stepped in to calm things down, at one point, Militao held his hands up as he was surrounded.
[image of Madrid and Barca players clashing with police intervention]
Simultaneously occurring, Madrid coach Xabi Alonso raced across to pull Vinicius Jr back, with Lunin at this point the closest Madrid player to the Barca group.
Lunin was eventually sent off by referee Cesar Soto Grado.In his match report, Soto Grado said he was shown the red card for “leaving his team bench towards the rival team’s bench in an aggressive manner, having to be restrained by his own team-mates”.
[Image of Lunin being confronted]
Yamal walking off the pitch (David Ramos/Getty Images)
Madrid goalkeeping coach luis Llopis tried to drag Vinicius Jr away to the tunnel,but in an apparent response to something said to him,the Brazilian started to rush towards Yamal,and four different Madrid staff members held him back. Raphinha ran towards his international team-mate, but Madrid’s Valverde intervened to block him.
As things finally calmed down, Barca went to commiserate with their few away supporters in one corner of the Bernabeu, while the victorious Madrid players linked arms and bounced up and down.
By that point, Soto Grado had shown Lunin the red card, with yellow cards being shown to Rodrygo, Vinicius Jr, and Militao for Madrid, and Lopez, Balde, and Torres for Barcelona.
Shortly after the match, sources at La Liga and the Spanish FA told The Athletic that no further action, beyond that already taken by the referee, is expected to follow.