No one can argue with Casemiro's knack for winning trophies but when it comes to his treatment from referees, opinion is greatly divided. To his detractors, the Brazilian does not get punished enough for his fouls. During his long and glittering career with Real Madrid, fans of Barcelona and Atletico Madrid claimed that he would frequently get away with murder on the pitch. They were not the only ones.
A quick Google search with the words 'Casemiro should have been sent off Real Madrid' brings up three examples from one season alone. In Casemiro's final campaign at the Santiago Bernabeu, there were fierce debates over whether he should have been sent off against Valencia, Cadiz and Levante.
Cadiz winger Ivan Alejo was the victim of one studs-up challenge from behind from the Brazilian in 2021 and his reaction to Casemiro not being sent off summed up wider public opinion in Spain. "I understand that this is Real Madrid, it's Casemiro, and that we know he gets away with many cards a lot," he said.
"I thought they were going to send him off and when I saw it was yellow I thought they would have to review it on VAR. I understand that it's not the same to show a red card to a Madrid player as it is to a Cadiz player. It's difficult for referees on a stage like this, the pressure is tough and perhaps if it were the other way around the card would have been a different colour."