In response to the officiating that occurred during Real Sociedad’s Europa League loss to Manchester United by a score of 4-1, the club has issued a harsh statement.
Over the course of the two legs, the Spanish team was eliminated by United by a score of 5-2 on aggregate. The defeat that they suffered on the road on Thursday was the second time in March that they have allowed four goals to be scored in a single match.
The first half began with Sociedad taking a 1-0 lead thanks to a penalty kick taken by Mikel Oyarzabal. However, Sociedad wasted two penalties during the first half.
After converting both of United’s goals, Bruno Fernandes went on to complete his hat trick in the second half of the match.
Diogo Dalot added more gloss to the scoreline against Sociedad, who were reduced to 10 players at a 2-1 deficit after substitute Jon Aramburu was sent off for bringing down Patrick Dorgu as the last man. Diogo Dalot added to the gloss of the scoreline.
It should come as no surprise that the most contentious topic of discussion of the evening was penalty kicks, with French referee Benoit Bastien awarding four of them during the second leg of the match.
It was later determined that the fourth award, which had been initially given for a foul committed by Hamari Traore of Sociedad against Dorgu, was incorrect.
In a remarkable display of sportsmanship, Dorgu went up to Bastien and gave him the message that it should not be given as a penalty.
Currently, Sociedad has issued a sensational statement on their official website, in which they accuse the match officials of ‘favouring’ United during the match that took place at Old Trafford.
The following statement can be found within the match report, which is titled “Outrageous” in its own right: “It is difficult to understand that such refereeing decisions are determined in Europe.” It was an utterly embarrassing situation.
It was due to decisions that have consistently favoured United that Real Sociedad, a team that is both courageous and proud, was unable to advance. Real was forced to concede defeat despite their tremendous effort because of a penalty that was not justified and a red card that was questioned.
“The home team quickly equalised the score with another very questionable penalty, this time for a foul committed by Zubeldia on Hojlund. This allowed Bruno to score, which brought the match to a conclusion.
A penalty that did not exist at all was awarded by the French referee at the beginning of the second half, which was a most embarrassing decision. A decision of this nature being made in Europe is a source of great shame.
Aramburu was shown a direct red card by the referee while he was engaged in a counterattack, which made the situation even more difficult. Real appeared to be the target of every possible foul that he called.
In addition to that, he assessed yet another penalty, which the United forward, Dorgu, was required to clarify was not a foul.
Real Sociedad is expressing a great deal of dissatisfaction with their departure from the Europa League. Now, they have rendered it impossible for them to do so. Yes, we will be back. We are the Real Deal.”
