The referees denounce a campaign by the clubs against them

Del Cerro Grande, at the center of the controversy last weekend at Valencia-Sevilla.AFP7 via Europa Press (AFP7 via Europa Press)

The Spanish referees denounced on Tuesday the existence of "a perfectly measured and organized campaign" against them.

After the increasingly common complaints from the clubs about the work of the referees and at a time when the

has settled like a black cloud over all of Spanish football, the group of professional referees raised the cry the sky through a statement.

The attack suffered this past weekend by a braid in a youth match in Ceuta also helped fill the camel's back for the weariness of a sector that feels singled out, attacked and devalued.

Without expressly mentioning the word strike or stoppage, his writing demands a change of dynamics to "not have to adopt drastic measures."

The referees' note pointed directly to LaLiga.

“The video released by its Director of Competitions, Luis Gil, trying to point out and ridicule the arbitration actions is one more example of LaLiga's interest in generating an unbreathable climate towards our collective, casting doubt on our decisions and undermining refereeing professionalism.

We request respect and institutional responsibility in the face of an unprecedented event ”, underlines the statement from the members.

"The leaders of LaLiga cannot lament a reputational crisis in Spanish football and, at the same time, collaborate to generate it through a call for tension and violence against the referees in a maneuver that only leads to the devaluation of our football. and its social discredit”, he adds.

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Professional arbitration statement

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— CTA (@CTARFEF) April 18, 2023

The continuous war that the Federation maintains, on which the referees depend, and LaLiga is another of the elements that explains this climate of tension.

In Las Rozas they suspect that the organization led by Javier Tebas would like the members not to be under the umbrella of the institution led by Luis Rubiales;

a maneuver, in any case, difficult to achieve right now because it would require a change in the Sports Law.

Managers of the non-professional categories

This Wednesday, at the employers' Assembly, the entities are expected to launch proposals to grease what they consider to be an improvable arbitration intervention.

In his opinion, they pay a significant amount of money to finance the corps of field judges and, nevertheless, they consider that they suffer from a lack of judgment in plays as key as the hands inside the area.

The last to shout to the sky and use thick words was Valencia, in relegation positions, last Sunday, after Del Cerro Grande did not whistle a handball from Sevilla player Fernando as a penalty after reviewing it on the VAR monitor.

"Today the referee, when he gets home, must have a hard time sleeping, because it is an absolute shame," said the club's corporate director, Javier Solís.

“We want to make clear our autonomy, which must be and always will be from LaLiga and from the clubs despite the confusion in which they have tried to plunge the fan.

A deep reflection is urgently needed in the face of such irresponsible behaviors that must be stopped as soon as possible", continues the note from the referees, which also qualifies that the Technical Committee of Referees does not appoint the braids, but the Designation Committee, where, as he recalls, there is a member of the Federation, another from LaLiga and a third party agreed by both or, if necessary, by the Higher Sports Council.

Although the statement is signed by professional referees, the text also raises an alert for the situation that, in his opinion, his group is suffering in the

especially after the incident that occurred in Ceuta a few days ago.

“It is a situation that affects minors who start in lower categories and who lack security on the field.

Children who are singled out, insulted, threatened and, what is more serious, physically assaulted”, they warn.

A problem for which the First and Second clubs are also held responsible.

"It is a direct effect of the smear media campaign that we suffer from La Liga and professional clubs," they censure.

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