Riazor erupts: Soto Grado doesn’t see a red for Cucho’s foul

As the Deportivo approached half-time trailing the Betis, the real spark at Riazor wasn’t the score—it was the referee’s inaction. According to Sport, Soto Grado didn’t deem Cucho Hernández’s challenge on Ximo Navarro worthy of a red card. On the pitch, he called it a foul and did not even show a yellow.

VAR review, but no change

Sport says the referee first called the VAR, and after a period without moving from his initial decision, he went to the monitor. After reviewing the incident—while the images played on the stadium screen—he still chose to stick with the original ruling. The stands responded immediately, with constant jeering that lasted until the players went off for the break and continued when they returned.

Blood and captain complaints

The protests also came from the players. Sport notes that Ximo Navarro reacted to the contact by clutching his head; he had blood and it was shown to the officials, but it didn’t alter Soto Grado’s decision. Diego Villares, another of the captains, was also among those raising complaints.

As a grim parallel, Sport adds that fate also had Ximo Navarro sent off in a Segunda match with Deportivo against Cartagena in a similar-type incident that raised some doubts at the time. In Riazor, that memory only intensified the backlash.