Real Sociedad are out of the 2024-25 Europa League, having lost 5-2 on aggregate to Manchester United in their round of 16 tie. The Basque side had been going through at one stage after taking an early lead in the second leg at Old Trafford, but they would go on to lose 4-1 on the night.
It was a very controversial second leg, to say the least. Three penalties were awarded (two for Man United, one for La Real), with a further one being cancelled after a VAR check, while the visitors also had Jon Aramburu sent off for a last man challenge minutes after he had been brought on.
Understandably, there was a lot of anger from La Real towards referee Benoit Bastien, and this was made clear by head coach Imanol Alguacil. As per Diario AS, he made it clear that his side were not allowed to compete against Man United because of the French official.
“It’s cruel, you don’t even know how to explain it without making excuses. United were better, but I would have liked to compete on a one-to-one basis. The referee didn’t want to whistle the only penalty that was and he whistled the ones that weren’t. We didn’t deserve a referee like that, neither us nor Manchester United.”
“There was not a neutral refereeing performance. I feel very sorry for the fans, there was no possible match – not only because of those decisions, from the 14th minute it has been continuous, it is a shame. There is nothing to blame on the players, the refereeing has not let us compete. We started the game well, I don’t know what would have happened.”
It is a bitter pill for La Real to swallow, but they must pick themselves pick up ahead of their next match, which is on Sunday against Rayo Vallecano. They can still qualify for Europe next season via La Liga, and they are still in the Copa del Rey too.
