Coaches and referees meet in Madrid to discuss officiating criteria
Coaches from Spain's top two divisions met with refereeing officials to discuss consistency in officiating and recent controversial match incidents.
Almost all head coaches from the first and second tiers of Spanish football gathered at the Ciudad del Fútbol in Las Rozas for a summit on the state of the game. High-profile managers including Diego Simeone and Hansi Flick participated in discussions alongside RFEF president Rafael Louzan and Fran Soto from the Referees' Committee.
The meeting focused on three pillars: coaching, financial stability, and officiating. Participants described the atmosphere as constructive, highlighting a mutual effort to bridge the gap between clubs and officials. Both sides called for greater empathy, with referees urging coaches to avoid inciting crowd protests, while coaches emphasized the need for officials to account for the extreme tension inherent in professional matches.
A significant portion of the session was dedicated to the demand for unified officiating criteria. Coaches questioned Fran Soto on why identical challenges are sometimes punished with a red card and other times are not. The discussion eventually centered on the recent derby, where opinions among the coaches on the severity of specific fouls varied widely between yellow and red cards.
When pressed for a definitive verdict on those controversial moments, the head of the referees' committee asked the coaches to wait for the upcoming edition of the program "Tiempo de Revisión," where official explanations are expected to be provided.