Sevilla v Granada referee stretches extra-time to its limit with players forced back onto pitch for one minute

Players return to the pitch for another 60 seconds
AFP via Getty Images
Tom Doyle25 April 2021

Sevilla and Granada got a little more than they bargained for on Sunday night after being forced back onto the pitch to complete the game after the referee had mistakenly blown his whistle for full-time too early.

LaLiga title contenders Sevilla were 2-0 up in the closing stages of the game, though Granada's Roberto Soldado converted a penalty in the 90th minute.

Granada - who exited the Europa League quarter-finals to Manchester United - thought they had four minutes of added time to find an equaliser, only for referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea to call time after three minutes.

The match official was surrounded by furious Granada players and after a few minutes he ordered the Sevilla team to return to the pitch, after many of them had taken off their kit.

Sevilla, who went ahead with an Ivan Rakitic penalty in the first half and Lucas Ocampos's strike early in the second, saw out the extra minute of added time to record a fifth consecutive league victory and move to 70 points after 33 games.

They remain in fourth spot just one point behind both Barcelona, who are third with a game in hand, and second-placed Real Madrid. Sevilla are three points behind leaders Atletico Madrid, who visit Athletic Bilbao later on Sunday.

The win also clinched a top-four spot for Sevilla and ensured they will return to the Champions League next season.

"I've never seen anything like this. Some of our players had taken off their kit," said Sevilla's Ocampos on the surreal end to the game, adding that his side were full of belief for the final stretch of the title race.

Additional reporting by Reuters.

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