Referees in La Liga will not be able to speak to television audiences from Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu, making it the only stadium in the division excluded from the league’s new broadcast protocol, according to Catalan newspaper Sport.
The initiative was introduced this season to provide greater transparency around refereeing decisions and give supporters explanations of significant incidents during matches. Referees have already appeared in the opening round of La Liga, with viewers hearing their first interventions during television coverage.
However, the protocol will be expanded from the 10th round of fixtures. At that stage, referees will be permitted to carry out interviews before and after matches when requested by broadcast operators. They will also be able to answer questions about important decisions and procedures from the game that has just been played.
The Spanish refereeing authorities insist officials “will speak at stadiums where the necessary conditions are available”, while stressing that no club or venue is being treated differently.
According to Sport, the absence of referee broadcasts from the Santiago Bernabeu is therefore not the result of a decision by the refereeing committee, nor does it represent a specific ban involving Real Madrid. Instead, it is linked to restrictions imposed by the club on communications by broadcasters working from the stadium.
The issue is understood to stem from the strained relationship between Real Madrid, La Liga and the Spanish Football Federation. That tension has also affected the conditions under which television coverage can be produced from the Santiago Bernabeu.
Real Madrid restricts broadcasters’ communications from the stadium and allows them to take place only a few minutes before kick-off. Those limitations mean the new refereeing protocol cannot be operated there in the same way as it can at other La Liga grounds.
As a result, supporters of other clubs will be able to hear referees explain some of the key and most controversial decisions made during matches. Real Madrid supporters, however, will not have access to that new form of transparency when their team plays at the Santiago Bernabeu, the newspaper reports.
The changes are intended to offer viewers more insight into the decisions made by match officials, particularly in situations that generate debate. The initial referee interventions have already formed part of television coverage this season, but the broader system, including pre-match and post-match interviews, will not begin across the competition until the 10th round.
The refereeing authorities’ position is that the system depends on the technical and operational conditions available at each ground. In the case of Real Madrid’s stadium, it is the club’s restrictions on broadcaster access and communications that prevent the protocol from being implemented, rather than a separate ruling directed at the club.
