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Madrid Gets 3 Favorable VAR Decisions to Beat Last-Place Almeria

Real Madrid's defender Dani Carvajal (R) celebrates with his teammate Dani Ceballos (L) after scoring the 3-2 goal during the Spanish LaLiga soccer match between Real Madrid and UD Almeria, in Madrid, 21 January 2024. (EPA)
Real Madrid's defender Dani Carvajal (R) celebrates with his teammate Dani Ceballos (L) after scoring the 3-2 goal during the Spanish LaLiga soccer match between Real Madrid and UD Almeria, in Madrid, 21 January 2024. (EPA)
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Madrid Gets 3 Favorable VAR Decisions to Beat Last-Place Almeria

Real Madrid's defender Dani Carvajal (R) celebrates with his teammate Dani Ceballos (L) after scoring the 3-2 goal during the Spanish LaLiga soccer match between Real Madrid and UD Almeria, in Madrid, 21 January 2024. (EPA)
Real Madrid's defender Dani Carvajal (R) celebrates with his teammate Dani Ceballos (L) after scoring the 3-2 goal during the Spanish LaLiga soccer match between Real Madrid and UD Almeria, in Madrid, 21 January 2024. (EPA)

Real Madrid needed help from VAR — a lot of help — to avoid an embarrassing setback at home against last-place Almeria in the Spanish league on Sunday.

Madrid got three favorable video reviews in the second half, then scored a winner nine minutes into stoppage time to rally to a 3-2 win over the only team yet to win in the league this season.

The dramatic late victory kept Madrid one point behind Girona, which continued its surprising run for the title by routing relegation-threatened Sevilla 5-1 with a hat trick by Artem Dovbyk.

Madrid has a game in hand compared to Girona.

Barcelona moved back into third place with a 4-2 win over Real Betis, with substitute João Félix breaking the deadlock in the 90th minute and Ferran Torres completing his hat trick in stoppage time. The Catalan club remains seven points behind Madrid and eight behind Girona.

Dani Carvajal scored Madrid's winner from close range after a cross into the area, delighting the crowd at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium and sending the Almeria players into despair.

The goal came after three separate VAR decisions allowed Madrid to stay in the game after trailing 2-0 in the first half. Madrid was awarded a penalty kick that made it 2-1, saw an Almería goal disallowed that would have made it 3-1, and got the 2-2 equalizer after the goal had been initially disallowed by the referee.

“We played a good match, but someone decided that we couldn't win here,” Almeria defender Marc Pubill claimed.

Almeria coach Gaizka Garitano was sent off in the final minutes for complaining, and said it wasn't the first time this had happened to him at the Bernabeu.

“What can I say... I don't have words to summarize what has happened here,” he said.

Even Barcelona coach Xavi Hernández weighed in on the controversial VAR decisions at the Bernabeu.

“I had already said it, it’s going to be very difficult to win this league. There are things that are not making sense to me,” Xavi said. “We’ll see how it goes, but some things we can’t control. Everybody saw what happened today.”

Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti saw it differently.

“I understand why Almeria is upset with the VAR decisions, but I think they were all correct,” Ancelotti said.

Madrid was coming off a loss to Atletico Madrid in extra time in the round of 16 of the Copa del Rey on Thursday.

It was the fifth straight game in which Madrid conceded at least a goal. Opponents scored 10 times against Madrid in the team's last four matches in all competitions.

“We played very poorly in the first half and I'm mad at myself because I didn't evaluate the last practice session properly. The team was tired,” Ancelotti said.

Almeria took a surprising two-goal lead into halftime after Largie Ramazani scored from inside the area in the first minute and Edgar González found the top corner with a long-range strike in the 43rd. Both goals came after mistakes by Madrid defender Nacho Fernández.

Jude Bellingham moved Madrid closer by converting a penalty kick in the 57th after VAR and the referee determined there was a handball by an Almeria defender.

Almeria thought it had regained a two-goal lead when Sergio Arribas scored in a 61st-minute breakaway, but a video review said there was a foul by Almeria midfielder Dion Lopy on Bellingham in the buildup.

In the 67th, Vinícius Júnior had a goal disallowed by the referee because of a handball, but VAR notified the referee again, and he said the Brazil forward used his shoulder to score.

Almeria also complained after the referee gave 11 minutes of stoppage time. The game eventually ended with 13 minutes of added time.

TORRES' HAT TRICK

Barcelona kept pace with Madrid despite squandering a two-goal lead after Torres' pair of first-half goals.

Isco scored both goals for Betis, which dropped to ninth place. Manuel Pellegrini's team has only one win in its last eight matches in all competitions.

GIRONA CRUISES

Dovbyk scored his hat trick for Girona by the 19th minute, with Viktor Tsygankov and Cristhian Stuani adding second-half goals for the hosts.

It was the fourth league loss in a row for Sevilla, and its sixth in seven matches. It sits in 17th place, one point above the relegation zone.

Earlier Sunday, Osasuna squandered a two-goal first-half lead but earned a 3-2 victory over Getafe with a winner by Jesús Areso in the 80th.

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‘Don’t Jump in Them’: Olympic Athletes’ Medals Break During Celebrations

Gold medalists team USA celebrate during the medal ceremony after the Team Event Free Skating of the Figure Skating competitions at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games, in Milan, Italy, 08 February 2026. (EPA)
Gold medalists team USA celebrate during the medal ceremony after the Team Event Free Skating of the Figure Skating competitions at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games, in Milan, Italy, 08 February 2026. (EPA)
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‘Don’t Jump in Them’: Olympic Athletes’ Medals Break During Celebrations

Gold medalists team USA celebrate during the medal ceremony after the Team Event Free Skating of the Figure Skating competitions at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games, in Milan, Italy, 08 February 2026. (EPA)
Gold medalists team USA celebrate during the medal ceremony after the Team Event Free Skating of the Figure Skating competitions at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games, in Milan, Italy, 08 February 2026. (EPA)

Handle with care. That's the message from gold medalist Breezy Johnson at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics after she and other athletes found their medals broke within hours.

Olympic organizers are investigating with "maximum attention" after a spate of medals have fallen off their ribbons during celebrations on the opening weekend of the Games.

"Don’t jump in them. I was jumping in excitement, and it broke," women's downhill ski gold medalist Johnson said after her win Sunday. "I’m sure somebody will fix it. It’s not crazy broken, but a little broken."

TV footage broadcast in Germany captured the moment biathlete Justus Strelow realized the mixed relay bronze he'd won Sunday had fallen off the ribbon around his neck and clattered to the floor as he danced along to a song with teammates.

His German teammates cheered as Strelow tried without success to reattach the medal before realizing a smaller piece, seemingly the clasp, had broken off and was still on the floor.

US figure skater Alysa Liu posted a clip on social media of her team event gold medal, detached from its official ribbon.

"My medal don’t need the ribbon," Liu wrote early Monday.

Andrea Francisi, the chief games operations officer for the Milan Cortina organizing committee, said it was working on a solution.

"We are aware of the situation, we have seen the images. Obviously we are trying to understand in detail if there is a problem," Francisi said Monday.

"But obviously we are paying maximum attention to this matter, as the medal is the dream of the athletes, so we want that obviously in the moment they are given it that everything is absolutely perfect, because we really consider it to be the most important moment. So we are working on it."

It isn't the first time the quality of Olympic medals has come under scrutiny.

Following the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, some medals had to be replaced after athletes complained they were starting to tarnish or corrode, giving them a mottled look likened to crocodile skin.

Sports

African Players in Europe: Ouattara Fires Another Winner for Bees

Football - Premier League - Newcastle United v Brentford - St James' Park, Newcastle, Britain - February 7, 2026 Brentford's Dango Ouattara celebrates scoring their third goal with Brentford's Rico Henry. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Newcastle United v Brentford - St James' Park, Newcastle, Britain - February 7, 2026 Brentford's Dango Ouattara celebrates scoring their third goal with Brentford's Rico Henry. (Reuters)
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African Players in Europe: Ouattara Fires Another Winner for Bees

Football - Premier League - Newcastle United v Brentford - St James' Park, Newcastle, Britain - February 7, 2026 Brentford's Dango Ouattara celebrates scoring their third goal with Brentford's Rico Henry. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Newcastle United v Brentford - St James' Park, Newcastle, Britain - February 7, 2026 Brentford's Dango Ouattara celebrates scoring their third goal with Brentford's Rico Henry. (Reuters)

Burkina Faso striker Dango Ouattara was the Brentford match-winner for the second straight weekend when they triumphed 3-2 at Newcastle United.

The 23-year-old struck in the 85th minute of a seesaw Premier League struggle in northeast England. The Bees trailed and led before securing three points to go seventh in the table.

Last weekend, Ouattara dented the title hopes of third-placed Aston Villa by scoring the only goal at Villa Park.

AFP Sport highlights African headline-makers in the major European leagues:

ENGLAND

DANGO OUATTARA (Brentford)

With the match at Newcastle locked at 2-2, the Burkinabe sealed victory for the visitors at St James' Park by driving a left-footed shot past Magpies goalkeeper Nick Pope to give the Bees a first win on Tyneside since 1934. Ouattara also provided the cross that led to Vitaly Janelt's headed equalizer after Brentford had fallen 1-0 behind.

BRYAN MBEUMO (Manchester Utd)

The Cameroon forward helped the Red Devils extend their perfect record under caretaker manager Michael Carrick to four games by scoring the opening goal in a 2-0 win over Tottenham after Spurs had been reduced to 10 men by captain Cristian Romero's red card.

ISMAILA SARR (Crystal Palace)

The Eagles ended their 12-match winless run with a 1-0 victory at bitter rivals Brighton thanks to Senegal international Sarr's 61st-minute goal when played in by substitute Evann Guessand, the Ivory Coast forward making an immediate impact on his Palace debut after joining on loan from Aston Villa during the January transfer window.

ITALY

LAMECK BANDA (Lecce)

Banda scored direct from a 90th-minute free-kick outside the area to give lowly Leece a precious 2-1 Serie A victory at home against mid-table Udinese. It was the third league goal this season for the 25-year-old Zambia winger. Leece lie 17th, one place and three points above the relegation zone.

GERMANY

SERHOU GUIRASSY (Borussia Dortmund)

Guirassy produced a moment of quality just when Dortmund needed it against Wolfsburg. Felix Nmecha's silky exchange with Fabio Silva allowed the Guinean to sweep in an 87th-minute winner for his ninth Bundesliga goal of the season. The 29-year-old has scored or assisted in four of his last five games.

RANSFORD KOENIGSDOERFFER (Hamburg)

A first-half thunderbolt from Ghana striker Koenigsdoerffer put Hamburg on track for a 2-0 victory at Heidenheim. It was their first away win of the season. Nigerian winger Philip Otele, making his Hamburg debut, split the defense with a clever pass to Koenigsdoerffer, who hit a shot low and hard to open the scoring in first-half stoppage time.

FRANCE

ISSA SOUMARE (Le Havre)

An opportunist goal by Soumare on 54 minutes gave Le Havre a 2-1 home win over Strasbourg in Ligue 1. The Senegalese received the ball just inside the area and stroked it into the far corner of the net as he fell.

Sports

Olympic Town Warms up as Climate Change Puts Winter Games on Thin Ice

Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics - Alpine Skiing - Men's Team Combined Downhill - Stelvio Ski Centre, Bormio, Italy - February 09, 2026. Alexis Monney of Switzerland in action during the Men's Team Combined Downhill. (Reuters)
Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics - Alpine Skiing - Men's Team Combined Downhill - Stelvio Ski Centre, Bormio, Italy - February 09, 2026. Alexis Monney of Switzerland in action during the Men's Team Combined Downhill. (Reuters)
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Olympic Town Warms up as Climate Change Puts Winter Games on Thin Ice

Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics - Alpine Skiing - Men's Team Combined Downhill - Stelvio Ski Centre, Bormio, Italy - February 09, 2026. Alexis Monney of Switzerland in action during the Men's Team Combined Downhill. (Reuters)
Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics - Alpine Skiing - Men's Team Combined Downhill - Stelvio Ski Centre, Bormio, Italy - February 09, 2026. Alexis Monney of Switzerland in action during the Men's Team Combined Downhill. (Reuters)

Olympic fans came to Cortina with heavy winter coats and gloves. Those coats were unzipped Sunday and gloves pocketed as snow melted from rooftops — signs of a warming world.

“I definitely thought we’d be wearing all the layers,” said Jay Tucker, who came from Virginia to cheer on Team USA and bought hand warmers and heated socks in preparation. “I don’t even have gloves on.”

The timing of winter, the amount of snowfall and temperatures are all less reliable and less predictable because Earth is warming at a record rate, said Shel Winkley, a Climate Central meteorologist. This poses a growing and significant challenge for organizers of winter sports; The International Olympic Committee said last week it could move up the start date for future Winter Games to January from February because of rising temperatures.

While the beginning of the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Cortina truly had a wintry feel, as the town was blanketed in heavy snow, the temperature reached about 40 degrees Fahrenheit (4.5 degrees Celsius) Sunday afternoon. It felt hotter in the sun.

This type of February “warmth” for Cortina is made at least three times more likely due to climate change, Winkley said. In the 70 years since Cortina first held the Winter Games, February temperatures there have climbed 6.4 degrees Fahrenheit (3.6 degrees Celsius), he added.

For the Milan Cortina Games, there's an added layer of complexity. It’s the most spread-out Winter Games in history, so Olympic venues are in localities with very different weather conditions. Bormio and Livigno, for example, are less than an hour apart by car, but they are separated by a high mountain pass that can divide the two places climatically.

The organizing committee is working closely with four regional and provincial public weather agencies. It has positioned weather sensors at strategic points for the competitions, including close to the ski jumping ramps, along the Alpine skiing tracks and at the biathlon shooting range.

Where automatic stations cannot collect everything of interest, the committee has observers — “scientists of the snow”— from the agencies ready to collect data, according to Matteo Pasotti, a weather specialist for the organizing committee.

The hope? Clear skies, light winds and low temperatures on race days to ensure good visibility and preserve the snow layer.

The reality: “It’s actually pretty warm out. We expected it to be a lot colder,” said Karli Poliziani, an American who lives in Milan. Poliziani was in Cortina with her father, who considered going out Sunday in just a sweatshirt.

And forecasts indicate that more days with above-average temperatures lie ahead for the Olympic competitions, Pasotti said.

Weather plays a critical role in the smooth running and safety of winter sports competitions, according to Filippo Bazzanella, head of sport services and planning for the organizing committee. High temperatures can impact the snow layer on Alpine skiing courses and visibility is essential. Humidity and high temperatures can affect the quality of the ice at indoor arenas and sliding centers, too.

Visibility and wind are the two factors most likely to cause changes to the competition schedule, Bazzanella added. Wind can be a safety issue or a fairness one, such as in the biathlon where slight variations can disrupt the athletes' precise shooting.

American alpine skier Jackie Wiles said many races this year have been challenging because of the weather.

“I feel like we’re pretty good about keeping our heads in the game because a lot of people are going to get taken out by that immediately,” she said at a team press conference last week. “Having that mindset of: it’s going to be what it’s going to be, and we still have to go out there and fight like hell regardless.”