La Liga referees file a complaint against Real Madrid president Florentino Perez

The Spanish Association of Football Referees (AESAF) have officially filed complaints against Real Madrid president Florentino Perez and the club’s television channel, Marca reports.

The complaints were submitted to Spain’s Anti-Violence Commission. 

Referees believe that repeated criticism from the Madrid president and the club’s media platform has created a hostile environment around officials in Spanish football.

According to a statement released by the referees’ association, the action was taken to defend the ‘dignity, integrity and protection’ of referees nationwide.

The group argued that constant public attacks and repeated questioning of refereeing decisions are damaging the level of respect needed in professional sport.

The association also warned that this kind of messaging can increase pressure on referees and may even encourage anger or aggressive behaviour toward officials during matches. 

“The complaints have been filed, respectively, against Mr Perez and Real Madrid TV and Real Madrid CF, within the institutional line of action that AESAF maintains in defence of the dignity, integrity and protection of Spanish referees,” they stated in a press release.

“The Association believes that the repetition of certain public messages, as well as the continued dissemination of content that systematically questions or discredits the refereeing community, contribute to deteriorating the climate of respect necessary for the proper development of sporting activity and may foster situations of tension, hostility or violence towards referees.

This latest complaint follows another move made by referees last week, when they reportedly asked Spain’s Competition Committee to open a disciplinary case against Perez. 

The situation has quickly become one of the biggest controversies in Spanish football. Much of the tension stems from recent comments Perez made during interviews and public appearances. 

In an interview with La Sexta and during a press conference last week, the Madrid president claimed that leagues had been ‘stolen’ from the club. 

He also alleged ‘systemic corruption’ in Spanish football over the last two decades and noted that many of the same referees remain active today.