Real Madrid defender Raul Asencio came in for criticism from his manager and team-mates after a sloppy red card against Pachuca on Sunday.
The youngster was sent off just seven minutes into Madrid’s 3-1 win over the Mexican side at the Club World Cup – after also giving away a penalty in the first game against Al-Hilal.
Madrid are continuing to play Asencio despite him being accused of sharing a sexual video involving a 16-year-old girl who did not know she was being filmed. He is not in the clip and he denies any wrongdoing.
Asencio dragged down Solomon Rondon when he was one-on-one with the goalkeeper just outside the box, earning his direct red card.
A 10-man Madrid still dominated the Mexicans, claiming three points courtesy of goals from Jude Bellingham, Arda Guler, and Federico Valverde.
Manager Xabi Alonso said: ‘I will talk with Raul Asencio, but for sure, he needs to learn from these type of experiences.
‘Asencio shouldn’t have made that mistake. It’s important that he knows that.
‘Early in the game you need to take chances, but not make a foul for a red card. He’s still young and this is an experience to think about for the future.’
Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois added: ‘It’s two games and two times in a row with the same mistake. We need to be more intelligent and not commit these fouls.’
Asencio has had a year of high-profile mistakes at Madrid.
In their opening Club World Cup game – a 1-1 draw with Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal – he gave away a needless penalty after bringing down Leonardo.
That was the third penalty he had conceded in 2025 – second only to Getafe’s Omar Alderete out of all LaLiga stars.
Lots of his focus has bene away from the pitch, where he is fighting a legal battle over the alleged distribution of a sexual video involving a minor.
The 22-year-old football star allegedly solicited a video filmed by team-mates Ferran Ruiz, 22, Andres Garcia, 22, and Juan Rodriguez, 23, in June 2023 which involved a minor and another young girl, aged 16 and 18 respectively at the time.
The players are accused of ‘disclosure of secrets without consent, and violation of privacy, distributing and sending videos to third parties without consent, capturing and using minors for pornographic purposes and possession of child pornography’.
The judge in the case later clarified Asencio has not been charged with recording the video but remains indicted on charges of revealing secrets for showing the video to a third party and of child pornography.
Asencio denied the charges in a lengthy statement in May.
He and the three other players were arrested at Real Madrid’s training centre in September 2023 following a complaint lodged by the mother of the 16-year-old girl who appears in the video.
Asencio has established himself as a first-team regular in his breakthrough season at Madrid. In a statement, he said that documents from a Gran Canaria court indicated his possible involvement was limited ‘to the possible momentary viewing of some images by a third party, without attributing any involvement to me in the recording or dissemination’.
Fans at various stadiums around Spain have jeered the defender, with some Barcelona fans chanting ‘Asencio, to jail’ during El Clasico.
Real Madrid’s Copa del Rey semi-final win at Real Sociedad in February was briefly paused by the referee after home fans chanted ‘Asencio die’. According to the court ruling, both women show symptoms consistent with post-traumatic stress disorder, Spanish sports outlet AS reported.
The judge at the Gran Canaria High Court said there was enough evidence to support allegations of violation of privacy, distribution of videos to third parties without the victims’ knowledge or consent, solicitation of a minor for pornographic purposes and possession of child pornography.
Article 197 of Spain’s Criminal Code states that any individual convicted of recording and sharing an explicit video of a minor will face between three-and-a-half and five years in prison.
This would drop to a two-and-a-half to four-year prison sentence if found guilty of non-consensual recording.
If Asencio is culpable of only sharing the video the sentence would be expected to be less severe.
The authorities confirmed charges were filed by the mother of the 16-year-old girl over the alleged non-consensual filming of her daughter.
The complainant has stated that the sexual activity was consensual, but the recording of it was not.
Following his arrest in 2023, Asencio tried to have his part in the case dismissed in February by appealing to end the investigation into his alleged role, however the judge decided to uphold the decision to move ahead with the inquiry.
Asencio has had his breakthrough campaign at Real this season and spoke about the allegations after being called up to the Spain national team for the first time.
Last month he told RTVE: ‘I think everyone is aware of what they are doing. For that reason, I am very calm.
‘So, well, live day by day. In the end, it’s a matter of deadlines. I have noticed this change of pressure on the pitches.
‘It’s logical, with the change of category (after Spain call-up). I’m a person who likes and is motivated by feeling that pressure.
‘Since I was a kid, I’m used to feeling that pressure at Real Madrid. It makes me even more motivated.’
He played 22 games for Carlo Ancelotti’s side this season in a disappointing campaign for Los Blancos that looks set to finish without silverware.
In February, Asencio went public on his relationship with Spanish influencer Selenia Suarez, who regularly attends the Bernabeu to watch him and is unrelated to the criminal case.
