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Breakdown: Relationship Between Real Madrid and La Liga Referees Irreparably Damaged
The relationship between Real Madrid and the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has completely broken down, and Real Madrid has no intention of repairing it.
Real Madrid has almost completely severed ties with the current RFEF. The club's top management has long since "jumped off" the train heading towards a new pattern of Spanish football refereeing order. José Ángel Sánchez, the club's general manager and director, participated in some meetings but, at the decisive moment, called the RFEF president to inform him that Real Madrid would not participate in the final stage.
In fact, after the match against Girona, Real Madrid's top management felt relieved that they were not involved, believing they were in a manipulated competitive environment. Although not entirely satisfied with the team's performance and the decisions of players and coaches, referee Alberola Rojas' officiating filled the club with anger, and as they themselves stated, this gave them ample reason to avoid all matters related to the RFEF.
Indeed, the scene in the Champions League midweek last week vividly demonstrated the gap between the RFEF and Real Madrid. At that time, RFEF president Luis Rubiales attended Real Madrid's match against Bayern Munich in his capacity as the highest authority in Spanish football, intending to accompany UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin, who had returned to the Bernabéu box. However, instead of sitting next to Ceferin, Rubiales watched the match from the third row of the box.
Real Madrid has made it clear that it has no intention of normalizing relations. As they stated after the Girona match, every game provides them with reasons and motivation to maintain this distance. Unless the entire refereeing system changes, the rift between the two sides will only deepen.
After the match against Girona, the anger in the Real Madrid dressing room was undisguised. Álvaro Arbeloa bluntly stated at the post-match press conference: "That was a penalty here, and it would be a penalty on the moon." Real Madrid TV commented: “This is another Negreira-style refereeing performance.”
The missed penalty call on Kylian Mbappé on Friday was just another example. There were also previous incidents such as a suspected handball not given in the Mallorca match (Real Madrid lost 1-2 in the end) and a red card overturned in the Barcelona vs Atlético Madrid match last weekend.
Real Madrid players are well aware that they should have performed better in matches like those against Mallorca and Girona, but they also believe that referee decisions are systematically unfavorable to Real Madrid, which has become the norm. This feeling prevails within Real Madrid, though the club has a different view of Champions League referees, who, while also making mistakes, do not show bias.
With the league title basically out of reach, Real Madrid players have set their sights on Munich. They are forcing themselves to believe that a historic comeback at the Allianz Arena is possible. The dressing room still believes that the refereeing environment in Europe is completely different from that in Spain.
