Mourinho faces refereeing warning after Real Madrid defeat

Jose Mourinho’s first defeat as Real Madrid manager has quickly developed into a refereeing controversy, with former official and analyst Juan Fabregas warning that the pressure surrounding the club could create an “oppressive” atmosphere for officials throughout the season.

Real Madrid lost to Real Betis in the fourth round of La Liga, and the debate moved almost immediately from the pitch to the refereeing room. Portuguese comments strongly criticised the match official, prompting an equally forceful response from the refereeing world.

Writing for Spanish newspaper Sport, Fabregas defended the decision that angered Mourinho and Real Madrid’s players. The incident involved the ball rebounding from Marc Bartra and play being allowed to continue.

“Mourinho criticised the correct decision by the referee, which was to allow play to continue after the ball rebounded from Marc Bartra. If one foot is outside the penalty area and the other is in the air, then technically it is outside the area, so the law was applied correctly,” said Fabregas.

However, Fabregas’ criticism was not limited to the technical interpretation of the decision. He also issued a warning about the way Mourinho has begun the campaign and the effect he believes it could have on referees.

“We have only reached the fourth round, and Mourinho has already revealed his trump card when it comes to referees. The pressure has been suffocating since the beginning of the competition, and that will create an oppressive atmosphere from now until the end of the season. We already knew this; it is nothing new. Until now, Mourinho had been acting calmly, but he has now shown his true colours,” he said.

Fabregas added: “The refereeing community knows what is going to happen because the pressure will be suffocating. It is impossible to referee in these conditions, and I hope referees do not suffer because of all the violence provoked by statements at press conferences.”

He also questioned the independence of Spain’s current refereeing structure and its relationship with the Spanish Football Federation.

“The refereeing committee, which is a recently established body, began working a year ago with Rafael Louzan. It is made up of referees, but they are answerable to the federation, while the federation is in turn answerable to the clubs. It is not an independent committee as it should be. What does Louzan want? To avoid problems with Real Madrid,” Fabregas said.

He continued: “What do referees want? They want the federation to continue relying on them, because as soon as they notice that something is wrong, they change their leadership. They have already dismissed Luis Medina Cantalejo after Real Madrid sent a message against the head of the refereeing committee.”

Fabregas concluded with a warning directed at officials appointed to Real Madrid matches.

“They realise that they are not independent and that they depend heavily on the federation president. When Real Madrid intervenes, everything becomes more complicated, especially since Mourinho arrived. They prefer managers such as Flick, who do not cause many problems, but with Mourinho, the problems keep coming.”