RFEF And Tebas Respond to Real Madrid’s Formal Complaint Following Espanyol Controversy

Responses to Real Madrid’s formal complaint to the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) and the Spanish Sports Council (CSD) regarding recent refereeing decisions have come in fast. In response to Los Blancos’ strongly worded letter, the RFEF has issued an official statement defending the integrity of its refereeing body while emphasizing ongoing efforts to modernize Spanish football officiating.

RFEF’s Statement

“We deeply regret the tone and seriousness of the accusations that question the integrity of the refereeing bodies and the functioning of the competition as a whole,” the statement read. “We understand that, in the development of professional football, there may be discrepancies regarding certain decisions, but we trust that all parties will act with the responsibility and respect that the highest level of our sport demands.

“Constantly delegitimizing refereeing work outside of established channels generates a climate of mistrust that benefits neither Spanish football nor its competitions,” the statement continued. “Constructive criticism is always welcome and necessary for continuous improvement, but it must be carried out within established frameworks and with the respect required by all parties that make up our sport.

Javier Tebas’s Response

LaLiga president and RFEF vice-president Javier Tebas also weighed in on the controversy:

“I was not at all surprised by Real Madrid’s letter, as it does not say anything different from what their television channel has been repeating for some time,” Tebas remarked. “Many of us advocate a radical change in the arbitration system, moving closer to the English or German model, with a completely different organization and much more transparency in all the structural decisions of Spanish arbitration.

What is truly striking is that, at a LaLiga meeting on April 19, 2023, we debated and even voted on this change, and Real Madrid opposed it, appearing lukewarm and without proposing solutions,” he said. “Could it have something to do with the fact that, at that time, Rubiales was the president of the RFEF and Florentino Pérez was a member of the RFEF Board of Directors?

“By the way, when it comes to ‘corrupt systems,’ there are few lessons to be learned. And I am not referring to Real Madrid as an institution,”

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