Real Madrid Slam Refereeing As 'rigged' After Espanyol Loss

Real Madrid have strongly condemned Spanish refereeing, branding it rigged and completely discredited following their shock 1-0 defeat to Espanyol on Saturday.

The clubs fury centres on a controversial 61st-minute decision, when Espanyol defender Carlos Romero escaped a red card for a reckless tackle on Kylian Mbappe , receiving only a yellow. To add insult to injury, Romero later scored the game's only goal, cutting Madrid's La Liga lead to just one point.

The events of the match exceeded any margin for human error or refereeing interpretation, wrote Real Madrid's board secretary, Jose Luis del Valle Perez, in a letter to the Spanish Football Federation RFEF, which the club made public.

Madrid also protested a disallowed goal by Vinicius Junior after Mbappe was penalised for a foul in the build-up.

The club demanded the immediate release of VAR audio recordings relating to both incidents, claiming refereeing decisions against them have reached a level of manipulation and alteration of the competition that cannot be ignored.