Referee Blunder Sparks Controversy in Betis’ Triumph Over Real Sociedad

Confusion during the 5th round match of the Liga between Betis Seville and Real Sociedad on Friday, September 19, 2025. In the 34th minute, Betis player Natan committed a foul on Oyarzabal, but it was his teammate Sofyan Amrabat who received a yellow card from referee Mateo Busquets Ferrer. However, the Moroccan midfielder was not involved in the foul. Two minutes later, Natan committed another foul on Kubo. But he did not receive a red card that would have resulted in his expulsion.

Stunned, the Real Sociedad players addressed the referee, but the match resumed with both teams still at 11 against 11. Even the television broadcasts and statistics providers also reported the error, but the match continued as if nothing had happened. Those who expected to see Betis reduced to 10 players were left disappointed, as the "case of mistaken identity" is one of the incidents that can be reviewed and corrected, according to the VAR rules. However, the error was not rectified until the end of the match, which ended in a valuable victory for Betis over Real Sociedad (3-1).

Amrabat has already experienced a similar situation in January 2024 during a match between Morocco and South Africa during the Africa Cup of Nations.

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