Spanish clubs to punish Real Madrid for repeated accusations against referees and attempts to influence them
Spanish football is witnessing a major escalation in tension between Real Madrid and referees, as clubs, La Liga and the Spanish Football Federation met to discuss the repercussions.
The clubs demanded that Real Madrid be punished for its repeated accusations against referees and attempts to influence them, which everyone considered unacceptable behavior in official competitions.
In the meeting held in the presence of club officials and the technical committee for referees, it was proposed to impose sanctions on Real Madrid due to its media campaign aimed at pressuring referees.
This proposal was widely supported, without any objection from the parties present, reflecting a consensus on the seriousness of Real Madrid’s actions and their impact on the integrity of the competition, according to the Spanish website “Relevo”.
Despite its prior confirmation of attendance, Real Madrid was absent from the meeting, which the clubs exploited to increase their criticism of the royal club and considered that the club’s actions indicate a lack of respect for the rest of the teams and the refereeing system.
The referees’ technical committee faced heavy criticism
The referees’ technical committee faced heavy criticism during the meeting for not adequately defending the referees against Real Madrid’s accusations, and the statement issued by the club after the Espanyol match, which included questioning the integrity of the referees, was mentioned, in addition to the videos broadcast by Real Madrid’s official channel highlighting the refereeing errors that the club claims to have been the victim of.
Several club representatives stressed that the problem is not limited to Real Madrid’s criticism, but extends to the varying standards of refereeing, and they called for the unification of refereeing decisions to avoid errors that could affect the results of matches.
This request was widely approved, as an official from one of the second division clubs indicated that this meeting was a rare opportunity to exchange views with the referees.
The clubs discussed Real Madrid’s demand to disclose the VAR recordings, which the club is seeking to achieve even if it requires resorting to the regular courts. This proposal found support from some of those present, including Javier Tebas, the president of the Spanish League, who expressed his support for transparency in the use of video technology.
