Le Normand faces a pending suspension after his red card vs Villarreal

Atlético de Madrid

The centre-back was shown a red card at the Metropolitano in an incident that ended with a penalty for the Yellow Submarine. After the VAR review, the referee pointed to the spot and sent off the defender for the red-and-white side, who was the last man when he brought down an opposing attacker in a goalscoring position.

The reaction afterwards, under scrutiny

The spotlight is not only on the sending-off incident. After leaving the pitch, Le Normand made a gesture that could be examined by the committees: he threw the water bottle he was holding with force and walked away making exaggerated gestures at the referee.

That conduct could lead to an additional assessment if it is deemed inappropriate or violent, although for now there is no confirmation of a harsher sanction. The most recent precedent involves RCD Espanyol, who were unable to call on Cabrera in the early rounds after he kicked the VAR screen. There was also a bigger punishment for Marcão, of Sevilla FC, who was handed a six-match ban last season for verbal aggression towards the referee in a match against Real Madrid.

The game left Atletico de Madrid without the three points at home. Diego Pablo Simeone's side drew 2-2 against Villarreal CF, in a contest in which they started by taking the lead, then it got complicated with the penalty and the red card, and they ended up drawing in the final stages with a player fewer.

For now, the only guaranteed absence for Robin Le Normand is against Sevilla. It remains to be seen whether the case is limited to that one-match ban or whether the reaction after the red card has further disciplinary implications.