15th September 2025
September 15 – Real Madrid may be sitting pretty at the top of La Liga with a perfect record, but the Spanish giants have again turned the spotlight away from their football and on to the referees, preparing a dossier of supposed injustices to send to FIFA.
Saturday’s 2-1 win over Real Sociedad should have been about the brilliance of Kylian Mbappé, but instead, Madrid fixated on a red card shown to Dean Huijsen for denying Mikel Oyarzabal a clear goal-scoring opportunity.
VAR checked the decision but didn’t ask referee Jesús Gil Manzano to review it, prompting coach Xavi Alonso to rage on the touchline and later declare it “a yellow at most” while receiving a yellow card himself for his outburst. A second-half goal by Arda Güler chalked off for offside only fanned the flames.
Within hours, Real Madrid TV announced plans to submit a report not just on this match, but on “scandals” stretching back through last season.
Madrid have long argued that their hated rivals, Barcelona, receive favourable treatment, pointing to a statistic that shows Barça have played over 65 matches in the last two decades with a man advantage, compared to Madrid’s negative balance. They even cited the Rayo-Barça clash where VAR temporarily failed as evidence of systemic bias.
Of course, refereeing in Spain has never been spotless, but Madrid’s constant public moaning does them no favours. Every contentious decision becomes a conspiracy, every setback someone else’s fault.
Their argument feels thin, though, as the club is still winning games. They’re still leading the league, however, this is not enough for the 15-time Champions of Europe as they are seemingly consumed by grievances, past and present. It may play well to the Los Blancos faithful, but to the wider football world, it reeks of a giant who cannot stand even the slightest perceived injustice, real or imagined.
Contact the writer of this story at [moc.l1757926144labto1757926144ofdlr1757926144owedi1757926144sni@r1757926144etsbe1757926144w.kci1757926144n1757926144](javascript:;)