The Technical Committee of Referees (CTA) is considering extending César Soto Grado's contract for another season. This decision was not in the initial plans of the current refereeing leadership, but they are forced into it due to the poor performance of the refereeing staff this season.

The referees are at an impasse. Controversies are piling up, and the leaders of the Technical Committee of Referees (CTA) don't know how to resolve this untenable situation as the final stretch of the season begins. Teams' complaints focus on the use of VAR. In this regard, Barça sent a letter to the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) expressing their dissatisfaction with the criteria being applied. Interestingly, the Blaugrana They felt wronged again in GironaFor example, the 2-1 home goal was allowed despite a previous foul on Kounde, and the penalty missed by Lamine Yamal wasn't retaken even though Bryan Gil, who influenced the play, entered the area prematurely. The truth is that the VAR officials are following the instructions of their head, Eduardo Prieto Iglesias, to the letter, who asks them to minimize VAR intervention. They received the following directive: "We prefer that you make a mistake so we don't have to intervene when necessary, rather than sending a colleague to the monitor when they shouldn't." This request has influenced the decision-making process and led the VAR officials to prioritize justifying the on-field referee's decision over correcting the error. The creation of the specific VAR unit clips the wings of elite referees.

The level of the VAR officials also significantly affects the quality of decisions, since, starting this season, on-field referees can no longer lead the VAR team. Rafael Louzán, president of the RFEF (Royal Spanish Football Federation), tasked the CTA (Technical Committee of Referees) with creating a specific VAR team made up of referees dedicated exclusively to that role. The team, currently 16 members, covers matches in the First and Second Divisions. At the same time, they prohibited the main referees from acting as VAR officials, and this has significantly disadvantaged international referees like Martínez Munuera and De Burgos Bengoetxea. The lack of consistent experience in the Spanish league has caused them to lose competitive edge compared to other European VAR officials, to the point that only Hernández Hernández remains a viable option to join Del Cerro at the World Cup. The impact is also noticeable domestically, where inconsistencies arise that affect decision-making. It happened in the Real Madrid - Real Sociedad and Girona - Barça matches, where the VAR referee had experience mainly in the Second Division, while the AVAR was an international referee. Financially, the difference between the two positions is also substantial: a VAR receives €2,500 per match, and their assistant just over €1,000.

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Only three matchdays have been played, and La Liga has already accumulated a string of refereeing controversies. The list is extensive: Ferran Torres' goal against Mallorca with an opponent lying on the ground, Balde's handball at the Ciudad de Valencia, the penalty on Mbappé at the Bernabéu, Arda Güler's handball, the penalty on Lamine Yamal in Vallecas, or the goal awarded to Giuliano Simeone even though the offside player was in VAR's position in 2018. This has fallen like a bombshell within the Spanish Federation, which sees how the changes implemented to the Technical Committee of Referees before the start of this season are not yielding the expected results.

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The new Technical Committee of Referees (CTA) is beginning to take shape. Fran Soto Balirac, the new president, has presented his team's top brass on social media. The Galician lawyer is committed to a cross-functional organizational structure that moves away from the hierarchical model of his predecessor, Luis Medina Cantalejo. The CTA leader has announced the six people who will be tasked with launching the project and has also determined their roles. The two most important positions will be David Fernández Borbalán and Eduardo Prieto Iglesias.

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The Spanish Federation (RFEF) has published the referee lists certifying the promotions and relegations of national referees. This year's movements have had a highly political component, given that the president of the Technical Committee of Referees (CTA), Luis Medina Cantalejo, has been dismissed from his duties.

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The Spanish Football Federation and La Liga have been working together for months on revamping the refereeing structure.

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