The closing stages of Sunday’s Clasico between Real Madrid and Barcelona saw police officers intervene to separate players squaring up to each other as tempers got out of control.
It all started shortly after Pedri was sent off for a second yellow card after catching Aurelien Tchouameni in a challenge as Barca desperately pushed for an equaliser deep into time added on.
That leveller did not come, with goals from Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham either side of a Fermin Lopez strike sealing a 2-1 victory for Madrid, who are now five points clear of their bitter rivals in La Liga. It was a classic Clasico: full of excitement, controversy and drama. On the pitch and off it.
Pedri’s red card lit the touchpaper, and after the final whistle, confrontations continued. Madrid substitute Andriy Lunin was sent off for his role in the altercations, with six other players shown yellow cards.
Here, The Athletic breaks down the drama of the game’s frantic final throws — and the flashpoints that followed.
What happened?
When Pedri was sent off in the 99th minute for a second yellow card after a foul on Tchouameni, Madrid players (including Tchouameni) commiserated with the Barca midfielder as he got to his feet.
Pedri is sent off for a second yellow card (Angel Martinez/Getty Images)
Cameras then cut to the sidelines, where Vinicius Junior, who had been replaced, and Madrid reserve goalkeeper Lunin were squaring up to Barcelona players, including Ferran Torres and Alejandro Balde.
Federico Valverde, Eder Militao, Bellingham, Antonio Rudiger and David Alaba (the last two are injured and not part of the matchday squad) were among those to run towards the Barca bench, with Barca’s Raphinha (also injured) and Eric Garcia getting involved, too, along with various staff members from both sides.
As police officers stepped in to calm things down, at one point, Militao held his hands up as he was surrounded.
Meanwhile, Madrid coach Xabi Alonso raced across to pull Vinicius Jr back, with Lunin at this point the closest Madrid player to the Barca group.
Lunin was eventually sent off by referee Cesar Soto Grado. In his match report, Soto Grado said he was shown the red card for “leaving his team bench towards the rival team’s bench in an aggressive manner, having to be restrained by his own team-mates”.
Alonso also pushed Militao back out towards the pitch — unlike some of the others involved, he was still active in the game — as police made a line between the two benches.
Bellingham reacts as police separate players on the sidelines (Oscar del Pozo/AFP via Getty Images)
Thibaut Courtois then restarted the game, and Soto Grado blew the final whistle.
Near the halfway line, Madrid captain Dani Carvajal walked towards Lamine Yamal, making a gesture with his hands that seemed to signify he thought Yamal had been talking too much. Marcus Rashford then came over and shook hands with Carvajal, who turned away. Yamal tried to run towards Carvajal, his Spain team-mate, but Madrid’s Eduardo Camavinga came across to hold him back.
Courtois then ran over, and he and Yamal had to be separated, with Garcia, Frenkie de Jong and Marc Casado among those to come between them. Amid a collection of players and staff from both sides, Brahim Diaz and Torres were pushing each other. Militao was remonstrating with Garcia, while Alonso and Tchouameni were pulling Militao away.
Alonso was among those acting as a peacemaker, pointing to his head in a ‘keep calm’ gesture. Barca’s stand-in coach for the day, Marcus Sorg — with Hansi Flick serving a suspension up in the stands — was also looking to calm everyone down, while Barcelona’s veteran match delegate Carles Naval prominent too.
As Yamal walked closer to the sidelines, Vinicius Jr then approached to give the same ‘talking too much’ sign towards him, and they exchanged words.
Yamal walking off the pitch (David Ramos/Getty Images)
Madrid goalkeeping coach Luis Llopis tried to drag Vinicius Jr away to the tunnel, but in an apparent response to something said to him, the Brazilian started to rush towards Yamal, and in the end, four different Madrid staff members held him back. Raphinha ran towards his international team-mate, but Madrid’s Valverde intervened to block him.
As things finally calmed down, Barca went to commiserate with their few away supporters in one corner of the Bernabeu, while the victorious Madrid players linked arms and bounced up and down.
By that point, Soto Grado had shown Lunin the red card, with the yellow card being shown to Rodrygo, Vinicius Jr, and Militao for Madrid, and Lopez, Balde, and Torres for Barcelona.
Shortly after the match, sources at La Liga and the Spanish FA told The Athletic that no further action, beyond that already taken by the referee, is expected to follow in terms of potential further punishment.
Todo lo que no viste tras el final del clásico: trifulca, celebración del Real Madrid… pic.twitter.com/08HMWNmtoc
— Diario AS (@diarioas) October 26, 2025
What did the players say?
Several Barca and Madrid players were asked about what happened. A common question for all of them in the mixed zone was the role Yamal’s pre-match comments might have had in adding extra spice to the game.
Before Sunday’s kick-off, Yamal joked that Madrid were “moaners and robbers” during a livestream of Gerard Pique’s Kings League competition and then, on the eve of the game, he posted photos on Instagram of angry Madrid fans giving him stick after he scored at the Bernabeu in last season’s La Liga meeting.
Smiling, Tchouameni said of Yamal’s comments: “I like these things. It is just words; there is no bad intention. It helped us a little bit more.”
He added: “At the end, there were some things between the players. It helps us, as players, to compete against Barca. When we were kids, we also saw these things. We won the game, got the three points, and we have to keep going like this.
“If Lamine wants to speak, no problem for us. The games are played on the pitch. Today we won, we are very happy with our game, and we move on now.”
Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo said, “I did not see what happened at the end, don’t know what happened. I am not going to talk about Lamine today, just to say he is a great professional, the best player in the world, and we are happy to have him with us. Lamine is very professional, an adult now, and knows what he has to do.”
Barcelona midfielder De Jong also said he “did not see what happened” to spark the fracas between players.
“I was on the pitch, and suddenly I saw a lot of players and staff,” he added. “When the referee blew the final whistle, Madrid players came running towards Lamine. For me, it was a bit exaggerated. If they need to do that, they will do it. It’s up to them. You’d have to ask them why.”
The Dutchman was asked about the confrontation between Carvajal and Yamal, too. “If you are Lamine’s team-mate (with Spain), you know him, and you believe he shouldn’t make those comments, you can call him instead of doing that on the pitch.
“Making gestures like that on the pitch, it’s more of the same. You create something like what we are talking about now. It is all very exaggerated. I can understand Madrid getting angry, as they see a quote from Lamine, but I don’t think it was so big. I don’t think it’s a problem.”
Meanwhile, Real Madrid manager Alonso said what happened was “completely normal”, adding, “I don’t think we should read too much into it. It’s football. These are El Clasico games.”
Sorg said: “Honestly, I did not realise what happened. In the end, there were a lot of people shouting between the benches, but I think we have to focus on the game.”
