Every week I sit down to discuss the weekend’s events in La Liga and every week I urge myself not to get drawn into the latest refereeing controversy. And, believe me, there is a controversy every week. I find it tiresome and irritating with echoes of the culture wars over in the news media. My problem is that there is just enough substance to make it hard to swerve entirely.
This week I can shrug off claims that one or both of Real Madrid’s goals at Elche should have been disallowed. Did the ball brush against Jude Bellingham’s arm before their first equaliser? Probably. But it wasn’t deliberate and it wasn’t him that scored the goal, so the weird modern cop-out rule doesn’t apply. For the second goal, did Vinicius kick Inaki Pena in the head before the ball ran away? Possibly, but there’s enough of a case to say it was just an accidental clash of two players going for the ball for an old-schooler like me to say let it stand.
Now, if you are utterly convinced there is a conspiracy to stitch up Spanish football in Real Madrid’s favour then it is all going into your evidence files. Let’s face it, the anti-conspiracy case wasn’t helped by the President of La Liga publicly pleading for it to be recognised how dedicated a fan of Real Madrid he is. You see what I mean about it being hard not to get drawn in?
Persona non grata
Hoy, en la Asamblea del Real Madrid, un socio ha pedido que se me declarara “persona non grata” y el presidente ha respondido: “no sé qué ganamos si todos estamos de acuerdo”. Algunos han aplaudido. Yo, sinceramente, sólo he sentido una cosa: tristeza.Soy… pic.twitter.com/WzMHrSX48E
— Javier Tebas Medrano (@Tebasjavier) November 23, 2025
And seasoned observers will know where this column has to turn now: yes, Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, the former vice-president of the referees’ technical committee. I have seen no reasonable explanation of the €8.4m paid by FC Barcelona to companies linked to Negreira although there is a strong case that they didn’t get value for their money.
Unfortunately, I’ve got form in missing a story of all engulfing corruption in a European league. Many years ago, I worked as a freelance commentator on Italy’s Serie A’s world feed. On one of my initial weekend visits there was a heated argument between two Italian producers about whether referees were fixing games to favour Juventus. A naive Englishman, I put it down to conspiratorial nonsense. How wrong I was! The calciopoli scandal soon broke and laid bare how deep the corruption ran.
But having spent a career striving to be utterly fair, I do have a rare perspective. When I watch my own team in the crowd at the stadium, I sense that collective urge to claim that the refs are doing us dirty but I can keep a clear head and say “No, that was fair enough.” It is relaxing.
I don’t see evidence of a deep conspiracy in La Liga. Real Madrid have been awarded more penalties (4) than any other La Liga side this season, but they do lots of attacking. Espanyol and Girona are joint second (3) and Barca have been given two. La Liga dominated the penalty charts among the big European leagues last season: Real Madrid (11) were top and five of the next six clubs were from La Liga. If there is a strong trend in Spanish football it is that referees leave a heavy footprint on matches. Again this season, they’re keeping their traditional grip on brandishing more yellow cards than other European counterparts. Although to be fair, they seem to have been trying to ease off, as evidenced by a decline in yellow cards from a high in 2018/19.
There was an insane peak of red cards shown in 2022/23. The top four clubs in the big five European leagues were all Spanish: Betis (15), Sevilla (13), Elche (12) and Espanyol (10). In this campaign so far, Girona lead the way (5). Every week there are soft red cards in La Liga, but I think it is important not to put the blame entirely at the door of the officials. La Liga players are far too relaxed about provoking a red or yellow card.
What about intervention?
From the 21/22 season, La Liga's average yellow card count is falling; from 2.59 > 2.52 > 2.4 > 2.25 last season.
Fouls per game are also down, from 13.2 > 12.9 > 12.9 > 12.4 in 24/25.
The peak was in 18/19, with 13.6 fouls and 2.58 yellows pic.twitter.com/TjSLm19c0N
— Football España (@footballespana_) November 25, 2025
Take Victor Chust this weekend: the game was deep in added time and Kylian Mbappe dribbled past him, so the Elche man grabbed his shirt and held on long enough to give the ref no choice but to show him a second yellow. To my mind, the players often behave like idiots and every week we see them provoking referees. It might be a moral failing, a cultural habit or it might reflect a loss of trust between players and officials: like school students with a track record of being punished who show no respect to teachers because they don’t feel they have the tools to avoid conflict. It is an unhealthy circle.
However, compared to Europe the stats remain high
Last season, La Liga still averaged 2.25 cards to 2.1 in the #EPL. The lowest in the 'big 5' leagues was Ligue 1 at 1.91.
The top three for yellows across all 5 were Getafe, Las Palmas and Alaves.
In 23/24, 6/7 clubs… pic.twitter.com/d6ppYObzL6
— Football España (@footballespana_) November 25, 2025
I have again slipped into hypocrisy: a column about referees that says we need to stop talking about referees. I make one appeal: when you’re watching matches in La Liga or elsewhere, try putting yourself in the shoes of the referee – or better still, give it a go. I’ve done it and it isn’t easy: you don’t see everything and there are a series of 50/50, 60/40, 70/30 calls while the players, coaches, spectators are all watching through their biased lenses.
Add the pressure of seemingly endless discussion shows and the ridiculous spectacle of Real Madrid TV running through every perceived sleight on repeat and you’re somewhere near the experience of a La Liga match official. Try to focus less on the referees, block out the demon whispering in your ear that there’s a conspiracy and you might find watching football less stressful.
The post COLUMN: A word to the wise on La Liga’s unhealthy refereeing circle appeared first on Football España.
