RFEF president opens up on Real Madrid refereeing war – ‘Not the way to act’ | OneFootball

In the wake of a key meeting with referees and all the Spanish clubs, RFEF president Rafael Louzan spoke to the media about the developing situation involving Real Madrid.

The Spanish giants are currently in an open war with the refereeing association in Spain and has called for massive reforms, after poor refereeing in the recent match against Espanyol.

Real Madrid have also been posting videos on RMTV pointing out referees’ mistakes and even gone so far as to point out potential ‘manipulation of results’, which hasn’t gone down well with the association or other clubs across first and second divisions.

Rafael Louzan on the Real Madrid issue

Reacting to the situation, RFEF president Rafael Louzan has given his thoughts, condemning the way that Real Madrid have behaved.

“The RFEF’s statement has been very clear and forceful. These actions by a great club that represents us worldwide cannot be tolerated and this is not the way to act,” explained Louzan (h/t SPORT).

“The Federation will always be open to listening and dialoguing with everyone in a respectful manner. Everyone has condemned this type of action that cannot be allowed because it damages Spanish football.”

The RFEF president went on to reveal that he had a good relationship with Real Madrid president Florentino Perez but urged the club to reconsider its actions.

“I had a relationship with Florentino Perez before being president of the Federation and his welcome was respectful. I hope that they reconsider this way of acting and proceeding because that is not the way.

Real Madrid are not holding back on the referee situation (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

“Of course, they are invited to future meetings to find solutions because we are committed to dialogue because confrontation is not my style,” he said.

Louzan also addressed the possibility of handing the audio recordings to Real Madrid – something even La Liga president Javier Tebas agreed.

“I spoke with the president of the CTA after hearing the news that Madrid wanted the audios and he told me that this did not usually happen. I asked him why not give it to them because I have no problem,” he said.

Louzan revealed that handing over the audios is something currently being considered by the the refereeing association of Spain (CTA).

“The Federation should not put obstacles in this sense and the CTA told me that it was going to be assessed. He gave me the example that others have not been given and I insisted that a new stage is beginning because the way forward is not to take it to court,” he said.

Finally, Louzan confirmed that going forward, there will be important changes that will be implemented within the legal framework, including the possibility of adding more female referees.

“We have a high level of female referees in football, but perhaps the model and structure that we have in the Technical Committee of Referees should be rethought. We are going to implement important changes always within the legal framework of the Federation,” he concluded.