Real Madrid president Florentino Perez wants to bring English referees to La Liga, after growing tired of poor officiating in Spain.
Though English referees are increasingly coming under the microscope for their decisions in the Premier League, most recently evident in the outrage surrounding Michael Oliver's sending off of Arsenal youngster Myles Lewis-Skelley, that hasn't stopped Perez from suggesting they should oversee domestic Spanish games.
Speaking in an interview, which is due to air on Thursday on Spanish TV, Spanish Football Federation president Rafael Louzan revealed that the Real Madrid chief demanded English referees in Spain a year ago, when the pair spoke at the 2024 Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia. Perez reportedly believes that poor refereeing decisions have lost Real Madrid "many titles" in recent years.
Real Madrid chief Perez wanted English referees in Spain
"In Saudi Arabia, a year ago, he pulled me aside and said, 'Hey, you need to sort out this referee issue. It’s hurting us a lot, and we’ve lost many titles because of it,’” Louzan said.
"He told me we should bring in English referees to officiate matches."
Since Perez returned to Real Madrid for the second term of his presidency in 2009, Los Blancos have enjoyed great success on the continent, winning six Champions Leagues in that time.
They've been relatively less successful in Spain, though, managing just five La Liga titles compared to Barcelona's eight, while they've only lifted the Copa del Rey trophy on four occasions - Barcelona have done so nine times, while Athletic Bilbao have been successful in five years in the competition.
That's not to say controversial refereeing decisions have had an impact on the outcome of those trophies, however.
Spain also had three referees selected for Euro 2024 last summer, with Juan Martinez Munuera, Alejandro Hernandez Hernandez and Jesus Gil Manzano all deemed among the best in class of officials on the continent. England, meanwhile, had Anthony Taylor and the aforementioned Oliver officiating at the tournament.
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