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Real Madrid have strongly condemned Spanish refereeing, branding it “rigged” and “completely discredited” following their shock 1-0 defeat to Espanyol on Saturday.
The club’s fury centres on a controversial 61st-minute decision, when Espanyol defender Carlos Romero escaped a red card for a reckless tackle on Kylian Mbappé, receiving only a yellow. To add insult to injury, Romero later scored the game’s only goal, cutting Madrid’s La Liga lead to just one point.
“The events of the match exceeded any margin for human error or refereeing interpretation,” wrote Real Madrid’s board secretary, José Luis del Valle Pérez, in a letter to the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), which the club made public.
Madrid also protested a disallowed goal by Vinícius Júnior after Mbappé was penalised for a foul in the build-up.
The club demanded the immediate release of VAR audio recordings relating to both incidents, claiming refereeing decisions against them have reached a level of “manipulation and alteration of the competition that cannot be ignored.”
Madrid called for a complete overhaul of Spain’s refereeing system, accusing it of being “structurally built to protect itself” and “corrupt from within.”
“When those responsible for oversight are the same ones influencing key decisions, we end up with what we are currently experiencing,” the club stated.
Manager Carlo Ancelotti also criticised the officiating, insisting Romero should have been sent off.
“It was a clear foul, a very ugly tackle. We’re lucky there’s no serious injury,” he said.
