Real Madrid makes break with Spanish Federation and labels competition “compromised”

Real Madrid has little or nothing to do anymore with the current Federation. The club’s executives stepped off midway through a process aimed at reshaping Spain’s refereeing structure. José Ángel Sánchez, the club’s general manager and a senior figure, took part in some of the meetings, but at the decisive moment he called the Federation president to say Madrid would not be involved in the final act – the signing of the agreement.

In truth, after the game against Girona, Real Madrid’s leadership is content not to be part of what they see as a refereeing-tainted competition. Far from satisfied with their own team’s performance or the decisions made by players and coaching staff, the officiating by Alberola Rojas sparked outrage and, as they themselves put it, reinforced their reasons for turning their backs on everything connected to the Football City in Las Rozas.

That growing distance between the Federation and Real Madrid was made clear again last Tuesday. At present, the two sides have nothing in common, and the Madrid club has no intention of normalizing relations. After every game – as they reiterated following the clash with Girona – they feel they are given further justification to maintain that stance. Until the entire refereeing system changes, that gap is only expected to widen.

As mentioned, the current reality was laid bare during the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals. Rafael Louzán attended Madrid’s game against Bayern as the top figure in Spanish soccer and to accompany Alexander Ceferin on his return to the Bernabéu directors’ box. Yet rather than sitting alongside the UEFA president, Louzán watched the match from the third row.

On this occasion, there is even talk of something premeditated, given the forcefulness of Alberola’s gestures after receiving communication from the VAR room. Madrid’s hierarchy accepts that errors can happen, but what defies logic, in their view, is the failure to correct them when – as the footage shows – two very similar incidents in the Girona match involving Kylian Mbappé were judged differently. They believe the battle is already lost, but they have no intention of giving up. That does not mean, as noted earlier, that refereeing is the only reason LaLiga has slipped away – but in their eyes, it is the main one.

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