Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez wanted to bring in English referees to improve La Liga’s officiating standards, according to Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) chief Rafael Lousan.
Pérez has frequently criticized the quality of Spanish referees, and Lousan revealed that the Real Madrid president once expressed his desire to introduce English referees in Spain.
“He told me that referees had cost them several titles,” Lousan said during an interview on the Spanish TV program El Chiringuito. He recalled a conversation from last year in Saudi Arabia, where Pérez approached him to discuss officiating concerns, though Lousan was not RFEF president at the time.
“One year ago in Saudi Arabia, he pulled me aside and said, ‘You need to fix this referee issue. They are harming us, and we have lost many titles because of them.’ I trust in the referees’ work,” Lousan recalled.
“Florentino once told me he wanted to bring in English referees. I told him, ‘Alright, let’s see how we can do it.’”
In Spain, the responsibility of assigning referees for matches falls under the Technical Committee of Referees, managed by the RFEF. The committee includes representatives from both RFEF and La Liga, who appoint match officials.
Lousan also mentioned that Pérez had raised the issue multiple times, insisting that refereeing decisions had negatively affected Real Madrid.
“I have a good relationship with Florentino, but he has made it clear that he believes refereeing has hurt them. So I told him, ‘Look, I’ve just arrived. We need to start from the ground up and try to find a solution together.’ He remains firm on this.”
