Spanish referees organize to protect themselves from Florentino and other dangers

SabadellThe 2024-25 season was a grueling one for Spanish referees. The group has had to endure off-field incidents that have damaged the referees' reputation, in addition to rampant animosity. The breeding ground for this unsustainable situation comes from many sources: clubs have used social media to irresponsibly attack referees, Real Madrid Television has taken its assessments of referees to the extreme (even more), and even the president of the Technical Committee of Referees, Luis Medina Cantal, has also been criticized. refrigerators on a television program. If you add to all this a banner with the image of Carlos del Cerro Grande with a goal pointed at his head, the picture is worrying.

Controversy has been a traveling companion throughout the season, as usual, but the turning point came in the Espanyol-Real Madrid match. In that match, the main referee, Muñiz Ruiz, and the VAR referee, Iglesias Villanueva, were unable to fine-tune their assessment of Carlos Romero's dangerous challenge on Kylian Mbappé. The Blue and White player wasn't sent off and, in fact, ended up scoring the winning goal. This circumstance outraged Florentino Pérez, and the Whites published a statement against the refereeing team that turned the remaining 16 matchdays into hell. The referees demanded strong measures against Madrid, but the promises of a firm hand came to nothing.

Following this controversy, Medina Cantalejo leaked to the media that several referees would be sanctioned for their poor performances, even before those involved were aware of it. The president wanted to shrug off responsibility to curry favor with the RFEF president, Rafael Louzán, who was defenseless and exposed at the most difficult moment of the season.

The final blow came in the weeks before the Copa del Rey final. He had encountered the opposition of the leaders. Faced with this situation, he favored Fernández Borbalán as an alternative to replace Medina Cantalejo. Cartuja and the impossibility of creating a union

The press conference before the final added fuel to the fire, as Pablo González Fuertes, the VAR manager, announced measures against Madrid. The Real Madrid club demanded the immediate replacement of the refereeing team and even suggested the possibility of not showing up at La Cartuja.

Faced with the external elements that have attacked the refereeing community and the defenselessness they have suffered at the hands of the RFEF, La Liga, and the CTA leaders, the referees have decided to organize to found an independent association to look after their interests. The initial idea was to create a union, but for legal reasons, as the group is dependent on the RFEF, this was not viable.

The idea arose from the humiliating videos on Madrid's corporate television and the belligerence of most clubs. They believe that red lines have been crossed and that all referees, from the First Division to the regional categories, are in a vulnerable situation that needs to be reversed.