Greenwood one of three Getafe players sent off in loss to Rayo Vallecano in Spanish league

MADRID (AP) — Mason Greenwood was accused of insulting a referee in the Spanish league on Tuesday, becoming one of three Getafe players sent off in a 2-0 loss to Rayo Vallecano.

The referee said in his post-match report that Greenwood insulted him in the 50th minute with an expletive in English, something that the British player and the Spanish club denied.

“He doesn't speak Spanish very well, he told me that he was saying something else,” Getafe coach José Bordalás said in his post-match interview. “He was frustrated because the referee was not calling any fouls on him, but he never offended anyone. It was just a comment that he made.”

Referee Jorge Figueroa Vázquez also said in his report that, after being sent off, Greenwood made a gesture pointing to his head and expressing his disagreement with the decision.

Greenwood is playing with Getafe on a loan from Manchester United, which he left at the end of last season following a criminal investigation into a possible attempted rape that was closed by prosecutors.

Getafe also lost defender Damián Suárez for allegedly insulting the assistant referee moments after he was substituted in the 70th.

The hosts had been playing a man down from the 40th after forward Juanmi Latasa was sent off with a second yellow card.

Sergio Camello scored in first-half stoppage time and shortly after halftime to help Rayo end an eight-match winless streak in the Spanish league. The result left Rayo in 11th place. Getafe stayed eighth.

GOALKEEPER SENT OFF

Real Sociedad overcome a red card to its goalkeeper in the first half to salvage a 1-1 home draw against Alaves.

Martín Zubimendi scored with a shot from inside the area six minutes into stoppage time to secure the draw against the fellow Basque Country team.

The result extended a 25-match winless streak on the road for Alaves, which also conceded in stoppage time while playing with an extra man in a 1-0 loss to leader Real Madrid at home in the previous round.

Luiz Rioja converted a 76th-minute penalty kick to give the visitors the lead. Zubimendi got the late equalizer after reaching a loose ball inside the area and sending a low shot into the net.

Sociedad played a man down from the 36th after a blunder by goalkeeper Álex Remiro. He left his area to intercept a long cross but misjudged the bounce of the ball, having to use his hand to keep it from going over his head and reaching an Alaves player in front of the open net.

Sociedad coach Imanol Alguacil had to replace forward André Silva with reserve goalkeeper Unai Marrero.

Forward Takefusa Kubo had nearly evened the match moments earlier with a shot from outside the area that hit the crossbar. The hosts were awarded a penalty in the 88th but the call was reversed after video review.

The draw moved Alaves to 15th place, four points from the relegation zone. Sociedad stayed sixth, three points from fifth-place Athletic Bilbao.

Sociedad was coming off three consecutive scoreless draws in all competitions, while Alaves had lost three in a row in the Spanish league. It hadn’t scored in four straight league matches.

Alaves forward Giuliano Simeone, son of Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone, entered the match in the 70th to make his first appearance since breaking his leg in a friendly in the offseason.

“It’s bittersweet taste,” Simeone said. “I’m happy to be playing again, but it’s a shame that we let the win escape by conceding that goal in the end.”

Midtable Valencia defeated 13th-place Villarreal 3-1 at home with a pair of penalty kicks converted by Pepelu.

On Wednesday, Real Madrid hosts Mallorca, while second-place Girona hosts third-place Atletico.

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