FC Barcelona has announced that it has sent an official letter of complaint to the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), addressed to the Federation President, the President of the Refereeing Technical Committee, the VAR Manager and the Director of Legal Affairs. The club has expressed deep concern over repeated refereeing decisions, which it believes harm fairness and lack unified, consistent standards.
The document sets out several key points:
Lack of consistency in disciplinary sanctions
FC Barcelona points out that there are clear discrepancies in sanctions imposed for identical offences, particularly in disciplinary matters. This inconsistency has created a public perception of “double standards”, contradicting the principles of fairness, equality and legal certainty that should govern competitive sport.
Contradictory handball decisions inside the penalty area
The club highlights inconsistent criteria for judging handball offences in the penalty area, even in matches officiated by the same referee. This lack of uniformity has strengthened public doubts over the arbitrariness of decisions and the unpredictable application of the rules.
Repeated serious refereeing errors
FC Barcelona states that there have been numerous obvious and severe refereeing mistakes this season, many of which have been decisive and damaging to the club’s interests. The accumulation of such errors has directly harmed the integrity of the competition and created a growing crisis of confidence.
Application and transparency of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR)
The club raises legitimate questions over the use and correct implementation of VAR, especially regarding marginal key decisions lacking clear, authoritative technical explanations. It also condemns the lack of transparency in the management and release of VAR audio recordings.
Standards for video review checks
FC Barcelona questions the absence of clear and unified criteria for referees when deciding whether to review incidents via video replay, creating insecurity and inequality in the decision-making process.
The club stresses that this move is not a challenge to the professionalism of referees, but a call for an urgent review of current review standards to ensure:
Consistency in refereeing decisions;
Fair treatment for all clubs;
Credibility and reputation of all competitions.
FC Barcelona also demands the full publication of all VAR audio recordings, regardless of whether an on-field review is conducted, as a key step to improve transparency and accountability in refereeing.
Finally, the club proposes the creation of a specific disciplinary code for referees, with clear, transparent consequences for serious errors or negligence, in order to strengthen public trust in the refereeing system. This proposal is intended not only to protect the club’s own interests, but to safeguard the overall health of the competition for all participating clubs, prevent repeat incidents and establish clear, stable and fair rules for everyone.
FC Barcelona calls on the relevant authorities to consider these demands with the utmost seriousness and to take effective measures to prevent similar situations from recurring.
