The Big Lead

In a wild plot twist, Florentino Perez actually wants to improve La Liga officiating

Pretty irocnic considering how many favorable calls Real Madrid have received over the years.

By Matt Reed

Jul 22, 2022; Los Angeles, California, USA; Florentino Perez, president of Real Madrid, attends a baseball game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
Jul 22, 2022; Los Angeles, California, USA; Florentino Perez, president of Real Madrid, attends a baseball game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
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Real Madrid president Florentino Perez worrying about officiating definitely wasn't something on my 2025 bingo card, and yet, the most influential voice in Spanish soccer has spoken out on the subject. Perez is never afraid to share his opinion on controversial topics, but a Real employee complaining about referees is quite rich.

The club has received countless calls (or in many cases, no calls) that have benefited Madrid over the years en route to countless successes in La Liga and the UEFA Champions League. However, Perez wants to fix the officiating issues in Spain and he has an idea of where to start.

The Telegraph has reported that Perez wants more English referees to move to Spain as a first step towards raising the standard of officiating. In a lot of ways, this is quite the plot twist conssidering how fans in England negatively view their officials.

Meanwhile, not everyone within Spanish soccer shares the same opinions on the officiating as Perez, including one of his club's direct rivals. Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo has come to the defence of Spanish officials, creating a very public rivalry with Perez and Los Blancos.

Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale dribbles the ball as Atletico de Madrid forward Sergio Camello at MetLife Stadium
Jul 26, 2019; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale (11) dribbles the ball as Atletico de Madrid forward Sergio Camello (34) defends during the second half of an International Champions Cup soccer series match at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

In fact, the timing of the comments are quite interesting because Atletico and Real meet in just a few weeks with the latest installment of the Madrid Derby.

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“The referees are the way they are and no one is going to change them," Cerezo said. "There are times when they get it right and sometimes they don’t, but VAR has come in handy. The referee is a human being like everyone else. The referees whistle what they see, I trust in their goodwill. Now, we always blame them and they have a boss who is the VAR. Do you want me to explain again what the VAR is?”

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