LaLiga breaks taboos: new decision puts Spanish league referees face to face with the media
The referees are finally speaking after the matches
Spanish referees are about to break their historic wall of silence. In an unprecedented move that redraws the relationship between the whistle and the television screen, the country's refereeing body has decided to step out of the shadows and into the spotlight.
The authority has announced a radical shift in its media policy. From the eleventh round, which gets under way this week, referees in LaLiga will appear on screen to explain and analyse their decisions directly after matches end.
Spanish radio station "Cadena SER" reports that the change will be rolled out gradually, with referees speaking after two carefully chosen matches in each round, selected by the referees' technical committee.
Behind the shift sits an unprecedented tripartite agreement between LaLiga, the Royal Spanish Football Federation and the Spanish referees' union (AESAF). The aim is simple: more transparency, and a referee's image brought closer to the public.
Second-division officials won't be left out either. Under the new deal, they too will commit to media interviews before and after selected matches, a step designed to raise the quality of Spanish football's audio-visual product.
A reward in return for transparency
This media openness hasn't come for free. Mirroring the model applied to clubs in return for their appearance on broadcasting platforms, LaLiga has set aside 500,000 euros as a total audio-visual reward for the referees.
The league attached two conditions to the payout. First, referees must genuinely add to the marketing and media value of Spanish football content. Second, they must protect the prestige of refereeing and improve its standing in the public eye after years of controversy and accusations.
The groundwork was laid at the start of this season, when referees gave quick interviews on the broadcast channels before kick-off for the first time. The most striking came from Juan Martinez Munuera before the last Clasico, who admitted that, as a referee, he always tries to avoid the spotlight. The new appearances are set to change that rule.
All of this forms part of a wider package of reforms Spanish football has launched to kill off refereeing controversy. The names of the officials in the video assistant referee (VAR) room are now disclosed in advance. A weekly programme called "Review Time" dissects the contentious calls. Referees even publicly own up to their errors when they're proven, in a serious bid to rebuild trust between the stands and the refereeing room.
