Referee scolding at Realmadrid TV: Journalists speak instead of stars

After 3:3, no professional speaks – of course not

MADRID. And again. Real Madrid were unable to win their fifth away game of the current season in the Spanish league alone on Saturday. And if the Royals are not successful away from home in LaLiga, the result is that no one from the professionals says anything after the final whistle. And that was no different when Rayo Vallecano only managed a 3-3 draw in their ninth appearance on foreign soil.

In principle it is not news, in fact it has been a common thread running through the season since the start of the Primera División – 2-2 on August 18th against RCD Mallorca. Since August 2023, the broadcasters MOVISTAR+ and DAZN, which broadcast in Spain, have been able to avoid getting a star of the white ballet in front of the microphone. This boycott repeatedly causes fines because the club violates the guidelines of the Spanish league association LFP. Costs that are accepted, however, because Real does not accept a media contract from the LFP that was updated last season and includes its controversial president Javier Tebas. Legal proceedings have been going on in the background for a long time.

Also part of this deal are the activities that will be much discussed in 2023, such as TV cameras in the dressing rooms or interviews with a protagonist directly at the end of the first half or immediately before the start of the second. Real refuses to do this, wants to give its actors the rest of their privacy and save them from a TV break conversation that is often worthless in terms of content. The deal forged in late summer 2021 between the LFP and the Luxembourg investment company CVC, which Real has always opposed, plays a role in the issue. Background: An immediate financial injection of 2.67 billion euros is intended to bring CVC around eleven percent of television revenue from the two highest Spanish leagues for 50 years.

Suddenly journalists called in

But back to day-to-day business. Despite everything, it’s not as if no one was able to comment again on Saturday. If Los Blancos haven’t just suffered a setback, you know: two or three players will at least be speaking on Realmadrid TV, although what you can expect there is more polished and less sensational statements.

Unusual: After the 3-3 draw at Rayo, it wasn’t the protagonists on the pitch who were answering questions, but suddenly four journalists – because the club’s TV station was once again only concerned with a single topic. Paul Tenorio, José Luis Sánchez, Jesús Bengoechea and Nacho Peña were called in by phone in that order to discuss referee Juan Martínez Munuera with presenter Álvaro de la Lama and program directors Jesús Alcaide and Miguel Ángel Muñoz. And lo and behold: of course they represented the opinions that should be heard.

Referee scolding from start to finish

For a solid hour and a half – Carlo Ancelotti’s press conference in the meantime and the few commercial breaks would have to be deducted from the time – it was about nothing other than the referee and his supposed wrong decisions. A missed penalty whistle in particular caused annoyance. Vinícius Júnior was brought down by a kick in the penalty area in the 76th minute, which went unpunished and apparently didn’t even prompt the video assistant to intervene.

Even many Madridistas are now tired of the unbalanced treatment of topics and the anti-referee reporting that has become habitual – as much as Realmadrid TV and its actors may be right in many cases, this is still a problem given the former millions in payments from FC Barcelona would also like to draw the attention of the Vice President of the Spanish Referees Committee to alleged grievances.

Referee whining is actually frowned upon at Real Madrid

Real has obviously long since strayed from its own path. They once condemned themselves not to publicly demonize referees. It was too styleless, too unroyal. Newcomers were even given a code of conduct that they were supposed to study and internalize.

“This book was intended to show us how to behave as a Real Madrid player and what it means to defend the legendary white jersey”Christoph Metzelder, who was with the Royals between 2007 and 2010, once said. It is, among other things “It is frowned upon to make critical comments about the referee after the game. Kicking a player or insulting the referee is not welcomed there. These are all things where you say: We are Real Madrid, we are the biggest club in the world, that is not appropriate for us.”. This obviously does not apply to TV offers. And you will definitely witness this more often.

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