Spain's referees have defended themselves from criticism of their performances this season with a strongly worded communique in which they have accused the Spanish football league (La Liga) of attempting to undermine their work.
Although they officiate in La Liga, referees in Spain are controlled by the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) and relations between RFEF president Luis Rubiales and La Liga boss Javier Tebas are at an all-time low, with continued accusations between them, reports Xinhua.
This season has seen referees placed under greater scrutiny than ever, with criticism of many decisions and questions about reviews (or failure to review decisions) by the VAR.
It was rumored that a meeting of referees in Madrid on Tuesday could even see Spain's referees call a strike and bring the season to a halt; in the end, the referees limited themselves to a communique in which they criticized La Liga.
"We want to convey our deep concern for the unfortunate situation that has been generated about the group that we represent, that has been promoted by different fronts in professional football, in what we consider a perfectly measured and organised campaign," the communique reads.
"We regret the permanent attacks by La Liga and its main leaders. It is one more example of La Liga's interest in creating an unbreathable climate for our collective and, therefore, we request respect and institutional responsibility," the communique continues, adding that for the moment, they will not "adopt drastic and urgent measures that would have a direct impact on our competition."
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That means, for the moment, there will be no strike, but with relations between referees and La Liga at a low point, one can't be ruled out in the future.