Real Madrid’s channel accuses officials of ‘refereeing on demand’ before Clásico

With the Clásico between Real Madrid and Barcelona only days away, the Madrid club’s channel has launched a verbal attack on refereeing. It denounced what it called “refereeing on demand” ahead of the match, which is scheduled for Sunday at Spotify Camp Nou. The officiating team had not yet been announced at the time of the reported comments.

The channel devoted an extended report to disputed decisions, citing red cards, disallowed goals and penalties. The clips covered previous Clásicos as well as matches involving Real Madrid and Barcelona against other teams. The message was clear: put refereeing under the spotlight before a highly anticipated fixture.

In the report, the channel argued that Real Madrid had been more adversely affected by refereeing decisions and that Barcelona received different treatment. It summed up its position this way: “The conclusion is clear: referees do not treat Barcelona the way they treat Real Madrid, and our club always ends up being the most disadvantaged party.” It also described refereeing in Barcelona’s favour as “excellent”, both in Clásicos and in recent matches.

The criticism was not confined to on-field officials. The channel also targeted video assistant refereeing, accusing it of favouring Barcelona and referring to “video on demand”. It further claimed that players received exceptional treatment when playing for Barcelona, going so far as to describe the officiating as “on demand”. These are accusations made by the channel, not an independently established finding about refereeing.

On the pitch, Real Madrid go into the fixture third in La Liga with 21 points after nine matches. Their record stands at seven wins, no draws and two defeats, with 23 goals scored and nine conceded. In their last five league matches, they have won four and lost one.

At home, the club have won all five of their La Liga matches, scoring 17 goals and conceding three. Away from home, they have two wins and two defeats in four games, with six goals scored and six conceded. Real Madrid’s league averages are 2.56 goals scored and 1.00 conceded per match. Against this backdrop, the refereeing dispute adds to the anticipation surrounding the Clásico, though the channel’s allegations are not, in themselves, an independent assessment.