As the power struggle between Real Madrid and Spanish referees intensifies, the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) decides to take matters into its own hands. In the wake of the new scandal on matchday 24 at Osasuna, Rafael Louzán, the head of the organisation, calls for swift changes.
There is a growing rift between Real Madrid and the refereeing institutions in Spain. For months, Florentino Pérez’s club has openly attacked referees for their controversial performances in each round of the championship. Over the past three weeks, things have escalated to the point where the RFEF, led by Rafael Louzán, feels compelled to intervene. While Real Madrid’s officials were preparing to visit the CTA this Monday to review the VAR audios of a dangerous tackle on Kylian Mbappé during the 23rd round of La Liga, referee José Luis Munuera added a new case to the table.
The controversial match of José Luis Munuera
In charge of the match between Osasuna and Real Madrid on Saturday, which was part of matchday 24 of La Liga, the referee, accused of being pro-Catalan, clearly made errors. Aside from penalties in favour of Real Madrid that were not awarded, Munuera Montero made his mark with a harsh red card against Jude Bellingham for an alleged offensive comment. With videos from the television stations on site, it is clear that the Madrid player did not say what the referee reported in his official statement. Real Madrid will file an appeal to have the red card against their number 5 overturned.
While waiting for the next developments in this case, Marca reported on Sunday that the explosive situation surrounding Spanish refereeing is seriously worrying the RFEF. According to developments, Rafael Louzán, the new head of Spanish football’s governing body, wants structural changes in the refereeing system to begin immediately. Determined to restore order as demanded by Florentino Pérez and, more recently, the leaders of Alavés, who have announced they will file a complaint against Spanish referees, the RFEF has clear ideas.
The RFEF’s bold measures
First of all, the RFEF wants to ensure that the individuals who write reports on each referee are independent and have no previous history. Additionally, the RFEF wants transparency, with the criteria used to assess refereeing performances being known, and, when the time comes, for everyone to know who the best referees are, or at least those who perform their duties best. These strong measures will clearly aim to remove the most controversial referees from the pitch.
In Spain, the situation surrounding referees is unclear. Since the revelation of the so-called Negreira case, involving FC Barcelona, there have been several grey areas concerning referees. Hopefully, Rafael Louzán’s decisions will quickly bear fruit and actions will be taken to put an end to the weekly scandals in La Liga. Real Madrid has no intention of backing down in its fight against corrupt referees who are undermining the club’s objectives.
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