The president of the Technical Committee of Referees (CTA) of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), Luis Medina Cantalejo, presented this Tuesday the main novelties regarding refereeing in Spain for next season, and highlighted the "extraordinary work" carried out to avoid "penalty" and "gray hands".
"In the hands the rule has not changed, it is still at the discretion and interpretation of the referee, but in a gray action, a contact with the hand without consequences or real impact on the game, the instruction is that it is not sanctioned" explained the president of the CTA. "We will try by all means to reduce the number of penalties due to those 'grey' hands that cause discouragement and do not convince anyone," explained the leader.
Cantalejo was accompanied by Alberto Undiano Mallenco and Carlos Clos Gómez, director of the "VAR Project", who explained the criteria for the maximum penalty: "Penalties have to have substance, be clear and obvious takedowns, you don't have to call anything". "We don't want players who simulate or exaggerate to get any benefit" added Clos Gómez, although he clarified that "the VAR will call or recommend a review even if there is contact if the contact may not be enough to signal a penalty." Meanwhile, Cantalejo insisted on downplaying these "light contacts" or "penalties": "In football there is and must be contact."
On the other hand, the rule of the jurisdiction of the game does not change, although the interpretation of the so-called "deliberate game" has changed, when it comes to establishing which play is enabled or not, depending on whether the defender plays the ball correctly. controlled" or "forced". In addition, Clos Gómez announced that "this year, 80% of the First and Second matches are going to be carried out by specific video assistants, dedicated exclusively to it" to promote greater "uniformity" and "speed" in taking decisions. decisions.
Another of the "objectives of the referees", as Cantalejo called them, will be "the protection of the players", since "they are the most precious asset of a team". "You have to differentiate between simple fouls, yellow cards and expulsions, one of the pending issues, since last year we missed very hard actions, even with a player injury" admitted the top leader of the referees.
Likewise, Cantalejo also warned about losing time: "We want to extend the effective playing time, although we have already increased it to 32 minutes, so we have asked the referees to speak less with the players on each play". "This season we will be able to reach up to 15 minutes of added time", continued the president of the CTA.
For his part, Undiano Mallenco asked the coaches, players and coaching staff for "good behavior" on the pitch: "We understand the tension and nerves of the game, and we try to be as empathic as we can, but there are situations that are inadmissible." "The referee must work calmly" added Mallenco, while Cantalejo took the opportunity to announce "a fair play protocol" aimed at throwing objects onto the field and other conflicts. "We are going to try to clarify things, make everything easier, but being clear that there will be controversy every Monday" Cantalejo summed up, "because that is part of the idiosyncrasy of football and the day it ends, football will end".
Beyond the news in arbitration, Medina Cantalejo also had a moment to ask for "a minimum institutional respect" for the arbitration establishment after "a complicated year after the pandemic, with many attacks on the house." Thus, the coordinator of the Spanish referees came out in defense of Luis Rubiales, president of the RFEF: "It is not possible to work when the figure of the president of the RFEF is continually in contention, for sporting and personal reasons and we have tried for all the media do a good job for him as well".
"It makes our work easier, it doesn't interfere with our tasks, and it lets us work freely," concluded Cantalejo, who settled the matter by affirming exhaustively that "the Spanish referees are with their president."
