{"id":1476,"date":"2026-03-23T13:33:20","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T05:33:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/?p=1476"},"modified":"2026-03-23T13:33:22","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T05:33:22","slug":"valverde-sent-off-after-late-challenge-on-baena-in-heated-derby","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/23\/valverde-sent-off-after-late-challenge-on-baena-in-heated-derby\/","title":{"rendered":"Valverde sent off after late challenge on Baena in heated derby"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"562\" src=\"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-12.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1477\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-12.png 1000w, https:\/\/mktynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-12-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/mktynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-12-768x432.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Controversy erupted in the final stages of the Madrid derby as Munuera Montero dismissed Fede Valverde for a kick on Alex Baena, with the referee later seen justifying the call to Real Madrid boss Alvaro Arbeloa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Madrid derby lived up to its billing, exploding into life during a breathless second half. Trailing 0-1 at the interval, Real Madrid turned the game on its head with a sensational three-minute blitz. However, the drama was only just beginning; Nahuel Molina restored parity with a stunning strike, only for Vinicius to fire back with a sublime finish to make it 3-2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As the contest reached fever pitch, tensions finally boiled over. With less than 15 minutes remaining, a flashpoint involving Fede Valverde and Alex Baena\u2014two players with a history\u2014sparked a controversy that looks certain to dominate the post-match fallout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Uruguayan midfielder was brandished a straight red card for a cynical kick from behind on the &#8216;Colchonero&#8217; star. Though the challenge initially seemed destined for a booking, referee Munuera Montero showed no leniency, sending Valverde for an early bath to the utter disbelief of both the player and Alvaro Arbeloa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Following the dismissal, the official sought out the Real Madrid coach to clarify his reasoning, maintaining that Valverde had deliberately caught the Atletico Madrid player from behind. It was a heated conclusion to an already volatile encounter, leaving an indelible mark on the final stages of the derby.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.besoccer.com\/match\/real-madrid\/atletico-madrid\/202622161\"><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Controversy erupted in the final stages of the Madrid derby as Munuera Montero dismissed Fede Valverde for a<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1477,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1476","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1476","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1476"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1476\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1478,"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1476\/revisions\/1478"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1477"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1476"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1476"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}