La Liga Referees are the core target at the moment after the Bellingham Red Card controversy in the Real Madrid vs Osasuna match that comes under fire for inconsistency regarding disciplinary decisions and excessive VAR intervention in-game
Real Madrid’s Outrage On La Liga Refereeing Has A Valid Point, Comparison With UCL Highlights The Over-Reliance Of Referees On VAR
Introducing VAR was supposed to reduce referring mistakes in a match which have now dwindled referring efficiency due to higher dependency on video officials that impacted individual decision-making ability resulting in wrong disciplinary action or hampering match flow.
Jude Bellingham Controversy Read here
Comparison of VAR Intervention in Europe and Spain
Intervening VAR reduced the game time and match flow which is a concern now. In 125 Group stage matches in 2024-25, roughly 24 VAR-related stoppages hampered gameplay by more than 5 minutes average in a game, and that in La Liga was 87! Data shows 32% more VAR intervention in La Liga than UCL in every match. FBref’s report shows 11.2 minutes of VAR-related stoppage per match in La Liga with a 58.7-minute average ball play in time.
In UCL 68% of potential reviews concluded without stooping play that maintains game flow and without compromising on game timings. La Liga Referees often whistle for minor fouls without giving advantage play that could have been turned into a goal. There is no clarity regarding the data of wrong decision-making that the Premier League has that highlights 13 mistakes made by VAR in PL this season.
Inconsistency in Giving Cards
La Liga Referees often make a different decision in the same situation. For example, Taking against Referees resulted in a Red Card for Real Madrid’s Bellingham and Barcelona’s Hansi Flick during match time. However, there was no action taken against Raphinha who directly said foul language to the referee! Different decisions for the same team player and coach on the same incident show inconsistency of decision-making of La Liga Referees.
La Liga referees are more hesitant to award a penalty with an average of 0.30 per game compared to 0.41 per game of the Champions League in the 2023-2024 season. This season in the Barcelona vs Rayo match Referee gave a penalty against Rayo for pulling Inigo Martinez's Shirt but gave no Penalty to Rayo for the same incident in Cubarsi. In the same Game, Rayo GK fouled Dani Olmo that was also overlooked by the referee showing inconsistency even in the same match.
Referee controversy is not one team call and it is a serious issue in La Liga that President Tebas is ignoring. In EURO only one Spanish Referee is there and in UCL 4 Spanish referees combined officiated 6 matches, only Sanchez Martinez is an exception, alone officiated 5 matches. This hampering the image of Spain and needs an immediate call for action.
