Criticism of refereeing in the Spanish League has intensified after the recent Clásico match, which saw Real Madrid defeat Barcelona 2-1, with the Royal Club accused of exerting continuous pressure on referees for many years, which some consider a reason for them receiving influential decisions in their favor this season.
According to the Spanish newspaper “Mundo Deportivo,” Real Madrid has collected 27 points out of a possible 30 after ten rounds of the Spanish League for the 2025-2026 season, the latest of which was the thrilling victory over Barcelona at the “Bernabéu” stadium. However, the newspaper confirmed that this impressive run of the team has been accompanied by a long series of controversial refereeing decisions, which many believe are in the White team’s favor.
The newspaper stated: “In the Clásico match, the referee: César Soto Grado, and with the assistance of: Elías Bellanueva, in the video technology room, stirred up widespread controversy after awarding the second goal scored by: Jude Bellingham, despite his teammate: Huesen, elbowing: Cubarsí, in the same play.”
It added: “Also, the referee overlooked a clear penalty in favor of: Araújo, after a strong push from behind by: Carvajal, while he awarded another penalty that sparked great controversy on: Eric García, due to an unintentional handball, but: Kylian Mbappé, missed it. In contrast, VAR canceled an incorrect penalty that had been awarded against: Lamine Yamal, following an imaginary foul on: Vinícius.”
The Catalan newspaper clarified that this is not the first time Real Madrid has benefited from refereeing decisions that raise suspicions. In the opening round against: Osasuna, the team won 1-0 thanks to an incorrect penalty caused by: Mbappé, himself, after stepping on the foot of: Juan Cruz, and falling dramatically and belatedly, according to the newspaper.
The newspaper pointed out that despite the clarity of the footage, the referee: Cordero Vega, awarded the penalty with the assistance of: Trujillo Suárez, in VAR. The match also witnessed the expulsion of: Bretón, in the final moments with a straight red card following a simple challenge with: Gonzalo, which did not deserve more than a warning.
In the second round against: Oviedo, Real Madrid won 3-0 in a match that also witnessed influential refereeing errors, as the first goal for: Mbappé, came after a foul by: Chuamini, on: Dendoncker, while the referee: De Burgos Bengoetxea, ignored a correct penalty after a clear push from: Huesen, to: Rondón, inside the area.
As for the third round, against: Mallorca (2-1), the Balearic team demanded a penalty against: Militão, after a foul on: Lato, but the biggest controversy came when the referee: Sánchez Martínez, with the assistance of: Pulido Santana, in VAR, canceled a goal for: Arda Güler, after a clear handball, in a decision that the newspaper considered one of the few cases in which the refereeing was correct.
In the fourth round against: Real Sociedad (2-1),: Huesen, was deservedly sent off by the referee: Gil Manzano, but the Basque team’s goal came after a clear handball from: Carvajal.
The refereeing errors – according to the newspaper “Mundo Deportivo” – continued in the fifth round against: Espanyol, when: Mastantonino, committed a dangerous foul against: Carlos Romero, in the 78th minute, causing him a deep head wound, but the referee: Martínez Munuera, only gave a yellow card.
In the sixth round, against: Levante (4-1),: Mastantonino, scored the second goal despite the fact that he should have been suspended due to the previous match incident. Also,: Mbappé, won a penalty after a foul from: Elgezabal, who fell into the trap of his dribbling as happened in the match against: Osasuna, and despite the correctness of the contact, the French striker exaggerated his fall without being punished for his simulation.
After losing 5-2 to: Atlético Madrid, in the seventh round, Real Madrid returned to benefit from controversial decisions in the eighth round against: Villarreal (3-1) according to the Catalan newspaper. As: Vinícius, won a penalty after falling without real contact from: Rafa Marín, as: Mourinho, was sent off with a second yellow card after another claim by the Brazilian player.
The referee: Cuadrado Fernández, considered all those plays to be correct decisions, with the assistance of: Iglesias Bellanueva, in VAR, whose presence was repeated in most of Real Madrid’s controversial matches.
In the ninth round against: Getafe (1-0),: Vinícius, continued to benefit from the referees’ decisions, as he pretended to be attacked by: Nyom, who was sent off directly, then caused the expulsion of: Sankris, after receiving a second yellow card after falling exaggeratedly following a simple contact.
In contrast, the newspaper touched on the situation of Barcelona, which lost 8 points in recent weeks, including 3 points in the Clásico, and another 3 points in the heavy defeat against: Sevilla (4-1) in the eighth round, a result that the newspaper described as deserved, but it started with an incorrect penalty against: Araújo, in favor of: Isaac, then with a second goal preceded by a clear foul on: Koundé, which was not counted by the referee: Muñoz Ruiz, with the assistance of: Del Cerro Grande, in VAR.
Also, the coach: Hans Flick, missed the Clásico match due to his expulsion against: Girona, in an incident described by the newspaper as “fabricated” by the referee: Gil Manzano, who waited for his reaction to give him the red card.
As for the match against: Rayo Vallecano (1-1), Barcelona stumbled again in a match that witnessed a technical malfunction in the VAR system, making the decisions more controversial. Although the first goal for: Bebé Chavarría, from a penalty against: Lamine Yamal, was a harsh decision, it was not completely wrong, while the assistant referee in the video room,: Iglesias Bellanueva, was unable to confirm or reject the decision due to the technical malfunction.
The newspaper “Mundo Deportivo” concluded its report by confirming that obtaining 27 points out of 30 represents a great achievement for Real Madrid, but at the same time it reopens the old debate about the extent of the media and administrative pressure exerted by the White Club on Spanish refereeing, and the extent of its reflection on the results of its matches in La Liga this season.
According to the Spanish newspaper “Mundo Deportivo,” Real Madrid has collected 27 points out of a possible 30 after ten rounds of the Spanish League for the 2025-2026 season, the latest of which was the thrilling victory over Barcelona at the “Bernabéu” stadium. However, the newspaper confirmed that this impressive run of the team has been accompanied by a long series of controversial refereeing decisions, which many believe are in the White team’s favor.
The newspaper stated: “In the Clásico match, the referee: César Soto Grado, and with the assistance of: Elías Bellanueva, in the video technology room, stirred up widespread controversy after awarding the second goal scored by: Jude Bellingham, despite his teammate: Huesen, elbowing: Cubarsí, in the same play.”
It added: “Also, the referee overlooked a clear penalty in favor of: Araújo, after a strong push from behind by: Carvajal, while he awarded another penalty that sparked great controversy on: Eric García, due to an unintentional handball, but: Kylian Mbappé, missed it. In contrast, VAR canceled an incorrect penalty that had been awarded against: Lamine Yamal, following an imaginary foul on: Vinícius.”
The Catalan newspaper clarified that this is not the first time Real Madrid has benefited from refereeing decisions that raise suspicions. In the opening round against: Osasuna, the team won 1-0 thanks to an incorrect penalty caused by: Mbappé, himself, after stepping on the foot of: Juan Cruz, and falling dramatically and belatedly, according to the newspaper.
The newspaper pointed out that despite the clarity of the footage, the referee: Cordero Vega, awarded the penalty with the assistance of: Trujillo Suárez, in VAR. The match also witnessed the expulsion of: Bretón, in the final moments with a straight red card following a simple challenge with: Gonzalo, which did not deserve more than a warning.
In the second round against: Oviedo, Real Madrid won 3-0 in a match that also witnessed influential refereeing errors, as the first goal for: Mbappé, came after a foul by: Chuamini, on: Dendoncker, while the referee: De Burgos Bengoetxea, ignored a correct penalty after a clear push from: Huesen, to: Rondón, inside the area.
As for the third round, against: Mallorca (2-1), the Balearic team demanded a penalty against: Militão, after a foul on: Lato, but the biggest controversy came when the referee: Sánchez Martínez, with the assistance of: Pulido Santana, in VAR, canceled a goal for: Arda Güler, after a clear handball, in a decision that the newspaper considered one of the few cases in which the refereeing was correct.
In the fourth round against: Real Sociedad (2-1),: Huesen, was deservedly sent off by the referee: Gil Manzano, but the Basque team’s goal came after a clear handball from: Carvajal.
The refereeing errors – according to the newspaper “Mundo Deportivo” – continued in the fifth round against: Espanyol, when: Mastantonino, committed a dangerous foul against: Carlos Romero, in the 78th minute, causing him a deep head wound, but the referee: Martínez Munuera, only gave a yellow card.
In the sixth round, against: Levante (4-1),: Mastantonino, scored the second goal despite the fact that he should have been suspended due to the previous match incident. Also,: Mbappé, won a penalty after a foul from: Elgezabal, who fell into the trap of his dribbling as happened in the match against: Osasuna, and despite the correctness of the contact, the French striker exaggerated his fall without being punished for his simulation.
After losing 5-2 to: Atlético Madrid, in the seventh round, Real Madrid returned to benefit from controversial decisions in the eighth round against: Villarreal (3-1) according to the Catalan newspaper. As: Vinícius, won a penalty after falling without real contact from: Rafa Marín, as: Mourinho, was sent off with a second yellow card after another claim by the Brazilian player.
The referee: Cuadrado Fernández, considered all those plays to be correct decisions, with the assistance of: Iglesias Bellanueva, in VAR, whose presence was repeated in most of Real Madrid’s controversial matches.
In the ninth round against: Getafe (1-0),: Vinícius, continued to benefit from the referees’ decisions, as he pretended to be attacked by: Nyom, who was sent off directly, then caused the expulsion of: Sankris, after receiving a second yellow card after falling exaggeratedly following a simple contact.
In contrast, the newspaper touched on the situation of Barcelona, which lost 8 points in recent weeks, including 3 points in the Clásico, and another 3 points in the heavy defeat against: Sevilla (4-1) in the eighth round, a result that the newspaper described as deserved, but it started with an incorrect penalty against: Araújo, in favor of: Isaac, then with a second goal preceded by a clear foul on: Koundé, which was not counted by the referee: Muñoz Ruiz, with the assistance of: Del Cerro Grande, in VAR.
Also, the coach: Hans Flick, missed the Clásico match due to his expulsion against: Girona, in an incident described by the newspaper as “fabricated” by the referee: Gil Manzano, who waited for his reaction to give him the red card.
As for the match against: Rayo Vallecano (1-1), Barcelona stumbled again in a match that witnessed a technical malfunction in the VAR system, making the decisions more controversial. Although the first goal for: Bebé Chavarría, from a penalty against: Lamine Yamal, was a harsh decision, it was not completely wrong, while the assistant referee in the video room,: Iglesias Bellanueva, was unable to confirm or reject the decision due to the technical malfunction.
The newspaper “Mundo Deportivo” concluded its report by confirming that obtaining 27 points out of 30 represents a great achievement for Real Madrid, but at the same time it reopens the old debate about the extent of the media and administrative pressure exerted by the White Club on Spanish refereeing, and the extent of its reflection on the results of its matches in La Liga this season.
