RFEF and La Liga on alert! Contingency plan ready as Real Madrid TV anti-referee campaign looms
The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) and La Liga are convinced that Real Madrid are preparing a new anti-referee campaign through their in-house television channel — and both organizations have already drawn up a contingency plan to protect match officials from potential harassment.
Details: According to the report, the RFEF and La Liga expect Real Madrid TV to intensify its attacks on Spanish refereeing in the coming days. Both bodies have therefore prepared a coordinated response plan aimed at shielding referees from what they fear could become a sustained pressure campaign.
The timing is no coincidence. Real Madrid are furious with the standard of officiating in La Liga this season, and the anger reached a new peak after Saturday's 1-0 win over Villarreal. Vinicius Junior was sent off after VAR spotted him pulling Nathan Saliba's hair in the build-up to a disallowed goal, and Madrid finished the night with nine cards in total — five for players, plus bookings for José Mourinho and team delegate Chendo and a red card for goalkeeping coach Nuno Santos.
Real Madrid TV immediately went on the offensive against referee Isidro Díaz de Mera, questioning why VAR intervened for the Vinicius incident but ignored other challenges, and even dredging up footage of Víctor Laguardia pulling Marcelo's hair in 2020. During the match, the Bernabéu rang with chants of 'Corruption in the Federation' and 'Negreira is still refereeing,' underlining how toxic the atmosphere has become.
Tensions have been building for weeks. Madrid left the September derby defeat to Atlético furious with referee Miguel Ángel Ortiz Arias, Atlético responded with a public statement demanding an end to the harassment of referees under the hashtag #StopAcosoArbitralYA, and the Bernabéu remains the only La Liga stadium where referees do not speak to broadcasters under the new transparency protocol.
It's worth noting that Vinicius Junior is expected to receive a suspension of at least two matches for the red card, which could rule him out of El Clásico against Barcelona on October 25 — meaning the refereeing row is likely to escalate rather than fade in the weeks ahead.
Reminder: What really happened? Referee and VAR conversation behind Vinicius' red card revealed.
Miguel Solomons
Dailysports's expert
