Real Madrid have dropped plans to appeal against Sunday's 1-0 defeat away to Espanyol. But the Spaniards are sticking to their claim the referee blew his whistle before allowing the winning goal.
"Some refereeing errors are acceptable and others aren't. This was not acceptable," Real Madrid president Florentino Perez said
"But we have decided not to ask for the result to be overturned out of respect for our opponents Espanyol."
Espanyol scored 22 minutes before the end of the Primera Liga match when defender Daniel Jarque headed in an Ivan de la Pena free-kick.
But Real players and coaching staff said referee Julian Rodriguez Santiago blew his whistle for an infringement in the area just before Jarque scored.
Real ended the game with nine players after defender Sergio Ramos was sent off for a body check on De la Pena and forward Julio Baptista was red carded for a studs-up challenge on Jonathan Soriano.
 |  What we have to do is remain calm and work even harder |
Both players received one-match bans as a result of their dismissals.
Real, who are 15th in the table with three points from three games, say video footage confirms the referee blew before the goal.
But Espanyol coach Miguel Angel Lotina said: "The real problem for Madrid is not that they lost the three points at Montjuic but that other sides with far worse players are winning trophies because they are playing as a team.
"Until they realise that then they will keep making the same mistakes,"
Lotina said.
"For me, I would gladly give them the points because the sensation of winning the game is far more important to me than the three points which are a mere anecdote."
Meanwhile, coach Wanderley Luxemburgo has refused to panic.
The second league defeat for Real came hot on the heels of their 3-0 loss to Lyon in the Champions League and increased the pressure on Luxemburgo.
"We can recover," he said. "Worse things have happened. What we have to do is remain calm and work even harder.
"When you lose, you don't have much time for analysis, I am not looking for excuses as this is a difficult moment."
MMIX
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