The first serious changes to the refereeing body in Spain have taken place, with the fall of Luis Medina Cantalejo and Carlos Clos Gomez. Following a season full of controversy and with a club statement from Real Madrid calling for sackings, the first dismissals have occurred.
Los Blancos were the most irate of many complaining clubs this season, actually accusing the Referees Technical Committee (CTA) of systemic bias against them. As part of their statement, they requested the dismissal of any referees who were involved during the period that former Vice-President of the CTA Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira was. He is currently the subject of a corruption case involving Barcelona.
🚨 Marcelino: “Rodrigo Riquelme at Villarreal? We already have that position covered. We have two very good players, Moleiro and Yeremy Pino. I’m not saying he’s not an interesting player, but there’s no place for him in our squad.”@ellarguero pic.twitter.com/XoH8FY2WtL
— Atletico Universe (@atletiuniverse) June 25, 2025
Clos Gomez and Medina Cantalejo sacked
As broken by Onda Cero, the Head of the CTA, Medinca Cantalejo, and the Head of the VAR section, Clos Gomez, have been sacked by the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF). The decision is expected to be made public on Thursday, and a new CTA chief will be named. Diario AS note that Antonio Rubinos Perez, and vice-presidents Vicente Lizondo Cortes, Bernardino Gonzalez Vazquez and Jose Luis Lesma Lopez have also been sacked.
It ends a four-year spell leading the CTA for Medina Cantalejo. RFEF President Rafael Louzan had tried to bring the CTA and Real Madrid together, but after the conflict between the two proved unsolvable, Louzan has decided to turn over a new leaf in the refereeing body – as stated by AS.
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— barcacentre (@barcacentre) June 26, 2025
Reform on the horizon
Louzan has promised reform to the CTA, including a possible change to grading system for referees, and to how promotions and relegations are decided. Sevilla and Real Betis were elected as a representatives by the rest of La Liga to discuss said reforms with the RFEF, while Real Madrid were invited as a special guest by the RFEF. The exits of Medina Cantalejo and Clos Gomez are the first changes, and given Real Madrid have been calling for their heads, the news will go down well at Valdebebas.
