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New York Times
17-02-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Real Madrid meet with Spanish refereeing body over VAR audio from Espanyol match
Real Madrid officials met with Spanish refereeing body CTA at the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) headquarters on Monday to listen to the audio files from the video assistant referee (VAR) of their recent La Liga match against Espanyol. Madrid were angered by a decision from on-field referee Alejandro Muniz Ruiz to show Espanyol defender Carlos Romero a yellow card for a 60th-minute challenge on Kylian Mbappe that was not overturned by VAR official Javier Iglesias Villanueva. Romero went on to score the game's only goal on February 1. Advertisement The club's indignation led to them sending an official communication to RFEF president Rafael Louzan and the Spanish government's High Sports Council (CSD) in which they requested to hear the VAR audio. Madrid had the opportunity t0 listen to the audio from the VAR officials throughout the match and their communication with the on-field referee, while they would also have the opportunity to hear other dialogue throughout the game. Madrid were represented by their club CEO Jose Angel Sanchez and secretary of the board Jose Luis del Valle at Monday's meeting. CTA president Medina Cantalejo described the meeting as 'very cordial' and 'very transparent', and added: 'We are always open to explaining the decisions.' VAR audio tapes from La Liga matches are available to all participating clubs and it is not unusual for club executives to meet referees each week at Las Rozas, the headquarters of the RFEF. This was, however, the first time that Madrid officials had attended such a meeting and the club opted to not go to an extraordinary meeting of La Liga and Segunda Division teams earlier this month to address recent refereeing issues. Madrid's refusal to attend the meeting came immediately after the 1-0 defeat at Espanyol in which they requested the 'immediate submission of VAR audio' from the match due to their unhappiness at several refereeing decisions. The club's request of having the audio sent to them was rejected on the grounds that it could be manipulated, but they would be allowed to listen to them at the RFEF headquarters. Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti also criticised the decision not to send off Espanyol's Romero in his post-game news conference. 'The decision made by the referee and the VAR is inexplicable,' Ancelotti said. 'Everyone saw it. The most important thing is to watch and protect the player, fortunately, nothing happened.' Advertisement Madrid have subsequently felt hard done by officiating decisions in subsequent La Liga matches. In the 1-1 draw against Atletico Madrid on February 8, when referee Cesar Soto Grado judged that Aurelien Tchouameni had stepped on Samuel Lino in the 18-yard box in the 35th minute, with Antoine Griezmann scoring the resulting penalty. On Saturday, Jude Bellingham was sent off in controversial circumstances in Madrid's 1-1 away draw against Osasuna for swearing towards referee Jose Luis Munuera Montero, while Eduardo Camavinga conceded a penalty in the 57th minute in an incident which led to the equaliser. Madrid are top of La Liga but will be overtaken by Barcelona should they defeat Rayo Vallecano on Monday night, courtesy of the Catalan's superior head-to-head record. GO DEEPER Real Madrid vs La Liga's referees: A timeline of mistrust ahead of Atletico derby
New York Times
05-02-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Spanish FA calls meeting to address refereeing issues, Real Madrid to not attend
The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has called an extraordinary meeting of La Liga and Segunda Division teams to address recent refereeing issues — but Real Madrid will not attend. The RFEF is set to meet with representatives from clubs, La Liga and Spain's technical committee of referees (CTA) on Thursday to discuss refereeing issues, new competition formats and financial distribution of the federations income. Advertisement The meeting was called a number of weeks ago and Madrid initially communicated their intention to be present. However, following their criticism of the refereeing decisions during Saturday's loss to Espanyol, they have since informed the RFEF that they will not attend. Madrid have frequently been critical of the standard of refereeing in Spain. The club filed a formal complaint to the RFEF and Spanish government's High Sports Council (CSD) after the weekend's 1-0 loss to Espanyol, asking for the 'immediate submission of VAR audio' in relation to two officiating decisions during the defeat. The complaint followed referee Alejandro Muniz Ruiz's decision to not send off Espanyol defender Carlos Romero for a 60th-minute challenge on Kylian Mbappe, plus Vinicius Junior's disallowed goal in the 21st minute after there was deemed to be a foul by Mbappe in the build up. The video assistant referee (VAR) Javier Iglesias Villanueva did not intervene on either decision, and Romero went on to score the game's winning goal. The complaint read: 'The events that took place in this match have exceeded any margin of human error or refereeing interpretation. What happened at the RCDE Stadium represents the culmination of a completely discredited refereeing system, in which the decisions against Real Madrid have reached a level of manipulation and adulteration of the competition that can no longer be ignored.' GO DEEPER Real Madrid's VAR controversy demonstrates the pressures facing Spanish referees It concluded: 'The scandal generated by this match has once again had worldwide repercussions, with the international press denouncing the biased use of VAR in Spain and the lack of credibility of Spanish refereeing.' An RFEF statement read: 'We deeply regret the tone and seriousness of the accusations that question the honourability of the refereeing bodies and the functioning of the competition as a whole. Advertisement 'The refereeing task, by its very nature, is subject to review and analysis, but this cannot lead to generalised accusations that cast doubt on their integrity, as this not only affects the referees themselves, but also erodes the credibility of soccer as a whole.' Madrid were also critical of the officials in the immediate aftermath of the game; first, on their television channel — where they called for the departure of Rafael Louzan, the president of the RFEF, who was elected in December — and then in the post-match report they published on their website. Madrid's club television channel is regularly a platform where refereeing in Spain is criticised. In March 2024, the RFEF opened an investigation into Madrid after a complaint by Sevilla over a video aired by the club's television channel which aimed criticism at and alleged bias by two referees set to officiate the La Liga fixture between the two sides. The tensions have been heightened by the ongoing Negreira case, which involves Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, the former vice-president of Spanish football's refereeing committee who owned a company that was paid a total of €7.3million (£6.4m; $7.8m) by Barcelona between 2001 and 2018. Barcelona have denied any wrongdoing. GO DEEPER Ex-La Liga ref Iturralde: 'Nobody in football really wants justice, they all want benefits' (Manaure Quintero/AFP via Getty Images)
