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Carlos Romero's tackle on Kylian Mbappé that incensed Real Madrid. Efe
Real Madrid Raises Protest, Accuses of 'Competition Adulteration'

Real Madrid Raises Protest, Accuses of 'Competition Adulteration'

The Chamartín club sends a stern letter to the Spanish Football Federation, escalating their criticism of the refereeing system and demanding immediate changes.

Óscar Bellot

Madrid

Lunes, 3 de febrero 2025, 18:50

Real Madrid has intensified its campaign against the refereeing system by sending a stern letter to the Spanish Football Federation (FEF) on Monday, with a copy to the Higher Sports Council (CSD), to denounce what they perceive as 'a level of manipulation and adulteration of the competition that can no longer be ignored.'

In a harshly worded letter prompted by the controversy surrounding Galician referee Alejandro Muñiz Ruiz's decision to issue a yellow card for Carlos Romero's brutal tackle on Kylian Mbappé, without VAR official Javier Iglesias Villanueva suggesting a review during the match held last Saturday in Cornellà, Real Madrid raises its voice against a system they have been trying to change for years. They reproach 'the two most serious refereeing decisions' of the match, which, according to the club, 'once again highlight the double standards applied to Real Madrid.'

Real Madrid speaks of a 'scandalous performance by the refereeing and VAR' in the match at the Espanyol stadium, which ended in a defeat for the whites due to a late goal by Carlos Romero, the same player who had made a harsh tackle on Mbappé in the 60th minute, which Muñiz Ruiz settled with a yellow card amid heated protests from Real Madrid players and staff while Mbappé writhed in pain.

According to Real Madrid, the events in Cornellà represent 'the culmination of a completely discredited refereeing system, where decisions against Real Madrid have reached a level of manipulation and competition adulteration that can no longer be ignored.'

Engaged in a crusade against refereeing even before the 'Negreira case' scandal erupted, Real Madrid refers to two specific actions by Muñiz Ruiz that, from their perspective, caused significant harm to Carlo Ancelotti's team. Firstly, the aforementioned foul by Carlos Romero on Mbappé, described as 'brutal' in the letter sent to the FEF and 'worthy of immediate expulsion' of the Espanyol defender, but which ended in a yellow card without VAR intervention 'to correct a manifestly erroneous decision' and 'leaving unpunished an aggression that in any other competition would have resulted in an exemplary sanction.'

Secondly, Real Madrid appeals to the goal disallowed to Vinicius in the 21st minute due to a prior foul by Mbappé on Pol Lozano. The Chamartín club believes the goal should have stood, considering that the images 'show that in that play, the one who was fouled, a clear penalty,' was Mbappé, held by the Espanyol player while entering the area, and they complain that the referee turned 'a penalty in favour into a foul against,' without VAR stepping in to correct Muñiz Ruiz's decision on the pitch.

An Insufficient 'Neverazo'

'The scandal generated by this match has once again had worldwide repercussions, with the international press denouncing the biased use of VAR in Spain and the lack of credibility of Spanish refereeing,' emphasizes Real Madrid, which considers that the 'neverazo' imposed on Muñiz Ruiz and Iglesias Villanueva only confirms 'the seriousness of the refereeing decisions' made during the match against Espanyol and 'the inconsistency of the current refereeing system' that Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez has demanded to change on several occasions.

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todoalicante Real Madrid Raises Protest, Accuses of 'Competition Adulteration'