CTA considers referee decision to not retake Mbappe’s penalty vs Real Betis was right

CTA considers referee decision to not retake Mbappe’s penalty vs Real Betis was right A lot has been said about Real Madrid’s failure to take three points against Real Betis last night , for it marked the team’s first defeat under Jose Mourinho this season. Los Verdiblancos took the lead late on the night, forcing Real Madrid into a position where they had to score twice in ten minutes to take home a win. Vinicius Jr. won a penalty in extra-time, and that handed the visitors their best chance of levelling the scores. Mbappe’s effort, however, was saved by Alvaro Valles cleanly but there was significant controversy over the position of Real Betis player Marc Bartra who seemingly entered the box before Mbappe struck the ball. A lot has been made about whether the decision not to retake the spot-kick was right or not, but Mundo Deportivo now bring to light that the CTA believes that the verdict was correct. What do the rules say? As reported by the Spanish outlet, the IFAB and the CARD rules are the two important rulebooks that influence referees’ decisions. According to the IFAB rules, a penalty must be retaken for encroachment if the defending team’s player directly affects the penalty taker through his encroachment, plays the ball or challenges an opponent. Further, it then states that if a player is in the air, as Bartra was, the position must be determined by the projected position of their feet if they were touching the ground. That, however, only applies when the player’s entire body is in the air. The CTA’s CARD manual, meanwhile, has similar regulations and stipulates that a penalty must be retaken for an encroaching defender only if it directly affects the taker or makes an effort for the ball or challenges an attacking team player. Real Madrid suffered their first loss. (Photo by Fran Santiago/Getty Images) What is the verdict? Considering the rules in both manuals, Mbappe’s penalty would only have to be retaken if Bartra’s encroachment directly affected Mbappe’s penalty, his effort to go for the rebound or made any challenge on a Real Madrid player. The Real Betis star, however, did none of that and did not even contact the ball immediately after the penalty. His position may be controversial, but he did not affect Real Madrid’s chances at a rebound in any capacity. In that sense, the decision not to retake the penalty was the right one, and the CTA consider that the officials were right with their verdict.