Behind the curtain: Real Madrid sit at the table to negotiate with referees

Spanish football continues its efforts to reform the refereeing system, with Real Madrid now taking an active role at the negotiating table. Los Blancos have clashed with the Technical Committee of Referees (CTA) in recent years, but they are now adopting a more conciliatory and constructive stance toward the reform process being led by the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF).

Real Madrid have been one of the most vocal critics of the current refereeing system. The club have even gone as far as to label it “corrupt” and “flawed.” In a letter addressed to RFEF president Rafael Louzán and José Manuel Rodríguez Uribes, Spain’s Secretary of State for Sport, the 15-time European champions stated that “the decisions against Real Madrid have reached a level of manipulation and adulteration of the competition that can no longer be ignored.”

This stance has also been reflected in the weekly videos the club releases, calling out referees before and after matches—something LaLiga president Javier Tebas has publicly criticised on multiple occasions. “It’s not fair play, nor is it the historical chivalry of Real Madrid,” Tebas said. “They’ve abandoned those values for some time now, and this constant focus on referees is exhausting and repetitive. It’s not aligned with the club’s legacy.”

Despite the backlash and media controversy, the Federation has managed to bring Real Madrid to the table in a more cooperative spirit regarding the refereeing overhaul. Louzán remained optimistic even after Real Madrid failed to attend the first summit of professional clubs held at Madrid’s Retiro Park.

He began rebuilding the relationship by inviting the club to the Las Rozas headquarters to review the VAR audio from a controversial match against Espanyol. Real Madrid accepted the invitation, listened attentively, and engaged in respectful and cordial dialogue. While the club ultimately maintained the view that CTA president Medina Cantalejo’s explanations were unconvincing and reiterated claims of a “refereeing bias” against them, the tone had notably shifted.

Real Madrid are now taking part in the committee currently working on refereeing reform. Although the club wasn’t elected by other LaLiga teams to represent them in the talks, they were granted an invitation by Louzán following an agreement with Javier Tebas. José Ángel Sánchez, Real Madrid’s general director, has attended all the meetings. Several attendees have acknowledged his respectful demeanor, constructive tone, and willingness to move forward with much-needed changes.

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In fact, Real Madrid have even aligned with proposals from LaLiga—an organisation with which they are frequently at odds. One such example came this Thursday. According to sources consulted by this website, Real Madrid supported the league’s proposal to use Artificial Intelligence to assign referees to matches and determine promotions and demotions. The club, which long demanded structural change in the refereeing system, are now fully participating in the transformation.

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