2 clubs 'lead anger against Real Madrid after outrage over refereeing standards'

Two clubs have led anger over Real Madrid's criticism of referees at a three hour meeting in the Spanish capital, while LaLiga's president has accused the club's officials of 'losing their minds'.

Real Madrid sent a formal letter of complaint to the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) earlier this week, with a copy also sent to Spain's High Council for Sports.

The club complained about officiating in their 1-0 loss by Espanyol on Saturday, with the only goal scored by Carlos Romero.

Real Madrid believed Romero should have been sent off earlier in the match for a tackle on Kylian Mbappe, but the referee's on pitch decision to show a yellow card was maintained by the VAR officials.

Following the match, Real Madrid TV shared a clip on social media of reactions to the incident, which was labelled as a 'global scandal'.

'The decision made by the referee and the VAR is inexplicable,' Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti added post-match.

'The most important thing is to protect the player and it was a clear foul, a really nasty tackle with a risk of injury. Fortunately, nothing happened, but there was a risk. The VAR is also there for this.

'We think the decision not to show a red card is inexplicable.'

Real Madrid also complained about Vinicius Jr having a goal ruled out in the match.

A four-page letter by the club branded the performance of officials as 'scandalous'.

The club added the match was the 'culmination of a completely discredited refereeing system whose decisions against Real Madrid have reached a point that the adulteration and manipulation of the competition cannot be ignored.'

Real Madrid were absent from a meeting held by the RFEF, which featured representatives of men's professional clubs and the refereeing committee.

LaLiga president Javier Tebas has claimed the league are considering legal action against Real Madrid following the letter.

'They have built up an exaggerated tale of victimisation that is completely baseless with, in my opinion, the goal of undermining the competition,' he said.

'It is completely over the top. They have lost their minds.'

Spanish newspaper Marca reported that LaLiga rivals Atletico Madrid and Sevilla led anger against Real Madrid at the meeting over the European champions attitude.

Atletico Madrid took aim at their rivals by posting a mock guide for preparing for the Madrid derby, which included the statement 'Using your official TV channel once again to press referees.'

The meeting was claimed to have delivered ‘historic’ changes to strengthen officiating in Spanish football.

The RFEF said it will open the possibility for players to participate in the refereeing seminars each pre-season to see instructions given to the officials and contribute ideas for improving refereeing.

It was also proposed for a system to be created to let referees explain their decisions live in stadiums following a review and creating groups to develop a closer relationship between referees and clubs.

The RFEF also proposed audio from VAR reviews should be broadcast live, subject to FIFA approval.

'The structure we currently have in the CTA (Technical Committee of Referees) must be rethought. It's no longer enough that it has always been done this way,' said Rafael Louzan, RFEF president.

'There are models in the world that are working well and we are going to implement a structural change within our regulatory framework.

'We want a real, serious and rigorous commitment from those of us who work for and for Spanish football.

'We want this to be the beginning of a new, different period for Spanish football, we have the opportunity to create it together.’