RFEF President on Refereeing reform meeting – ‘We thank Real Madrid for their presence’ | OneFootball

President of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) Rafael Louzan has claimed that they are aiming for ‘maximum transparency’ and ‘complete openness’ when it comes to reform for the refereeing system. On Wednesday a meeting took place between the RFEF, the Referees Committee (CTA), La Liga, the elected clubs and Real Madrid.

Several weeks ago, amid controversy and numerous complaints, a vote took place between the clubs in top three tiers of Spanish football took elect representatives to the Referee Reform Committee, where Real Betis, Sevilla, Albacete and Granada were chosen from La Liga and Segunda. La Liga and the RFEF then chose to invite Real Madrid and Racing Santander of their own volition, Louzan promised changes ahead of next season.

“We have a clear horizon. To the extent we can, we will try to ensure that the model and this structural change can be implemented with the start of the next 2025/2026 season.”

Real Madrid have been the noisiest and most virulent in their complaints, calling the refereeing system corrupt and manipulated specifically against them. Yet General Manager Jose Angel Sanchez attended the meeting.

Image via Relevo

“We thank Real Madrid for their presence,” Louzan told Sport. “We’re at kilometer zero; this meeting has never happened before. We’ll see how far we can go. There are regulations, rules, and a Sports Law. Everything has been put on the table. The English model, the German model, have already been discussed… Although none of them are perfect, there are complaints everywhere.”

Meanwhile one of the figures reportedly with their position under threat is head of the CTA, Luis Medina Cantalejo. He noted that they had not spoken about the constant smear pieces from official Real Madrid media.

“We haven’t discussed anything about Real Madrid TV, nor anything in particular about any club.”

“Transparency has been requested. This is also true regarding referee appointments, which are made through a committee comprised of the federation, LaLiga, and the CSD. Or regarding the relegation and promotion of referees, how they are scored… Perhaps a committee should be set up to report on all of this.”

Reportedly Real Madrid will only back new reforms to the system if it involves transparency and an independent body for the referees, compared to what the RFEF-linked CTA that is in place currently. Los Blancos have previously suggested using English referees, apparently missing that there have been suggestions of bringing in foreign referees to the Premier League due to complaints.