Real Madrid's boycott deepens as refereeing summit proceeds

At a summit convened by the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) and La Liga to discuss refereeing reforms as the 2025‑26 season closed, Real Madrid sent no representatives, repeating its boycott of federation‑club talks that have drawn attention amid ongoing disputes over Spain’s officiating system.

The summit gathered representatives from clubs across Spain’s First and Second Divisions. Its agenda included several issues, notably the future of Spanish refereeing.

Burgos CF also informed organisers that they would not attend. Cadiz, after initially confirming participation, ultimately could not be present.

Real Madrid neither confirmed nor formally declined the invitation after being asked to complete the attendance form. Consequently, the club sent no representatives to the gathering.

The club’s absence follows a pattern that has emerged over the past year. In February 2025, the RFEF organised the first major meeting involving all professional men’s clubs, La Liga and the refereeing body to begin discussions on officiating reforms, with Real Madrid the most notable absentee.

RFEF president Rafael Louzan later persuaded Real Madrid to join the refereeing reform committee, even though Los Blancos had not been selected through the clubs’ voting process. The club’s participation was therefore not the result of a standard selection.

Real Madrid have expressed unhappiness with the Spanish refereeing system. After attending meetings and discussions for several months, the club withdrew toward the end of 2025 as disagreements with the new refereeing leadership intensified.

Earlier this year, after skipping a meeting in March, Real Madrid informed the RFEF that “these meetings are useless.” The statement effectively ended the club’s involvement in the ongoing refereeing reform talks.

Today's summit continued the same pattern, with representatives from nearly every professional club attending alongside senior officials from La Liga and the RFEF. Yet Real Madrid chose not to participate, maintaining its public distance from the federation’s current reform process.