Article by Tudor Belivacă – Published Tuesday, December 16, 2025, 6:23 p.m. / Updated Tuesday, December 16, 2025, 6:37 p.m.
Andrei Rațiu (27 years old), Rayo Vallecano footballer, was a full-time player in the match with Betis, score 0-0, match from stage #16 of La Liga.
In the 88th minute of the game, “central” Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea seemed to show the yellow card to Ivan Balliu, Rațiu's teammate. In fact, according to the official report consulted by journalists from the Spanish daily AS, the yellow card was even shown to the Romanian. It was the fifth warning and he will be suspended for the game with Elche, the last game of the year for the Madrid team.
Andrei Rațiu received a “ghost” yellow card: “He was sanctioned for gestures of disagreement with one of my decisions”
According to the information from AS, it was not Balliu who was warned, as was seen on TV, including the graphics of Spanish television, but the Romanian Andrei Rațiu.
“Central” Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea motivated the decision in the official match report. He wrote that the Romanian player of Rayo Vallecano was warned for the gestures he made following a dictated decision.
“Andrei Rațiu was sanctioned for gestures of disagreement with one of my decisions”, the referee wrote in the report, according to the Spaniards from as.com.
Thus, Andrei Rațiu will miss the last game of this calendar year, the one against Elche, scheduled for December 21, from 19:30. Until that game, Andrei Rațiu can still play in the Madrid Conference League game. The team led from the bench by Inigo Perez will play Drita on Thursday, December 18, from 22:00.
Andrei Rațiu is an essential player for the Spanish team. The Romanian has ticked all the minutes for Rayo Vallecano this season in La Liga. He has been an integral player in all 16 games so far in the Spanish championship.
The Romanian right-back also has 5 matches in the Conference League and one in the King's Cup. In this competitive season, Rațiu scored only in the European competition. It is quoted by specialized websites at 18 million euros.
Ranking in La Liga
