Notable absence of Spanish referees in Europe raises questions about officiating standards

This week's appointments of referees for European matches saw a striking absence of Spanish officials from managing matches in the three continental competitions: UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, and UEFA Europa Conference League, despite 54 matches taking place over three days.

According to the published appointment lists, UEFA has relied on referees from different nationalities to manage the matches of the current round, without selecting any Spanish referee for the 54 games, in a scene that draws attention to the state of Spanish officiating in European competitions.

In the UEFA Champions League, appointments included names from France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, and other countries, with Frenchman François Letexier officiating the match between AS Roma and Real Madrid, while his compatriot Clément Turpin leads the game between Real Betis and FC Porto.

In the UEFA Europa League, the appointments included referees from different nationalities, including Romanian Horatiu Fesnic for the match between Salzburg and Milan, and Dutch Sander van der Eijk for the clash between Celta de Vigo and Juventus. In the UEFA Europa Conference League, the match between Atalanta and Pafos FC was assigned to Swedish referee Adam Ladeback.

Despite the absence of Spanish referees in the role of match officials for these matches, it does not mean that all members of the Spanish officiating teams are excluded. Reports have indicated the participation of Spanish referees Cézar Soto Grado and Carlos Del Cerro in technical duties related to video technology in some European encounters.