Spain: RFEF reacts to Real Madrid who denounce refereeing decisions during match versus RCD Espanyol

"From the Royal Spanish Football Federation we reaffirm our commitment to transparency, fairness and the constant improvement of refereeing mechanisms, fundamental pillars to guarantee the development and integrity of our competitions," announced the RFEF in a statement published on 03/02/2025.

In doing so, the RFEF was reacting to the controversy arising from the LALIGA EA Sports match between RCD Espanyol and Real Madrid CF (1-0, Matchday 22) played on 01/02/2025. Real Madrid are contesting two refereeing decisions (a tackle on Kylian Mbappé punished only by a yellow card and a goal by Vinicius Jr, which was disallowed).

"Given the seriousness of the facts, Real Madrid demand that the RFEF immediately hand over the VAR audios relating to these two key actions in the match," wrote José Luis del Valle Pérez, secretary of Real Madrid's board of directors, in a lengthy letter sent to the RFEF (with a copy to the CSD, the Higher Sports Council) on 03/02/2025 (document, in Spanish, available to download).

"The events of the match exceeded any margin for human error or refereeing…