Referee turned down two penalty appeals in second Super Cup semi

With 'El Clasico' now behind us, Atletico Madrid and Athletic Bilbao faced off in the second semi-final of the Spanish Super Cup. There were plenty of chances and Atletico Madrid had a goal disallowed after eight seconds. There was also moments of controversy though.

They did so thanks to two possible penalties which referee Cuadra Fernandez let go. In the first incident, Lemar got past Berenguer and went down under contact from Berenguer. However, the referee said no penalty for Atletico Madrid. 

In the second half, Kondogbia seemed to step on Sancet's boot from behind when he was heading towards Jan Oblak's goal. The contact occurred just on the edge of the box so there was a debate on social media on what the decision should have been. 

In any case, the referee's decision was to play on on both occasions. There was also controversy off the pitch as Saudi Arabia broke its own vaccintion rules to allow players like Renan Lodi into the country despite not being vaccinated.