Real Madrid News
Real Madrid’s concerns with refereeing in Spain grow after latest La Liga matchday
Real Madrid’s game against Atletico Madrid last night once again raised serious concerns about the refereeing standards in La Liga and Los Blancos left the game feeling like they were hard done by once again.
While they did take all three points, there is a serious feeling that Federico Valverde’s red card was not deserved in the slightest and that he should have got away with a yellow.
They even point to the game between Barcelona and Rayo Vallecano from earlier in the day to back their stance.
They claim Rayo were denied a clear penalty and Barça were favoured by the referees who did not show clear second yellow cards to Raphinha and Lamine Yamal.
An official stance
As relayed by Diario AS in a recent report, a new Spanish refereeing reform agreement was signed last week but Real Madrid did not send any representative for the same.
Jose Angel Sanchez, the club’s general director, has represented Real Madrid for similar causes and events in the past, but did not attend this time around as the club made it clear to Rafael Louzan that they would not sign.
The Merengues feel like nothing has changed despite signing many similar ‘improvement’ agreements in the past.
They insist that the situation and refereeing will not change or improve as long as the shadow of the Negreira scandal persists.
Real Madrid and the RFEF have been working on improving their relationship in recent times, but match days such as the most recent one do not help the cause.
They will appeal Valverde’s red card, but there is not much hope that anything will change or that any relief will be granted to the captain either.
In a major update, AS reports that former Real Madrid midfielder and club legend Toni Kroos has taken his first step towards starting his coaching career.
The former Germany international has told the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) that he is interested in joining the coaching course reserved for professional footballers.
Real Madrid tried to bring Kroos back
It is no secret that Real Madrid considered bringing Toni Kroos back into the club’s structure after the end of the last season.
The club president, Florentino Perez, had wanted Kroos to have a daily presence at Valdebebas rather than making occasional appearances after his retirement.
Jose Angel Sanchez and Kroos spoke after Perez expressed his desire to see the German working at Valdebebas every day. However, they did not find the right moment, time or structure to give his return a clear form.
A comeback remains one of the possibilities most desired by Madrid supporters because of Kroos’ charisma and what he represents at the Santiago Bernabeu. Neither side wanted him to return simply for the sake of it, so the door remains open for the future.
The relationship between the two parties is excellent, and both know that the opportunity to work together again will eventually come.
Taking it step by step
For now, Kroos continues to run the academy he established in Boadilla, enjoying the opportunity to help develop younger players.
After two years away from the competitive side of football, however, he is beginning to look towards the dugout as a possible next step in his career.
Kroos currently holds coaching qualifications that allow him to work up to the third tier of Spanish football.
This is possible because professionals with at least seven years of proven experience and significant involvement at the elite level can gain direct access to accelerated coaching courses.
That means Kroos could coach a team in Primera Federacion, but the German wants to take things gradually.
Kroos has already informed the RFEF that he would be interested in joining the coaching course reserved for professional footballers during the 2027/28 season.
The course taking place this season is not available to elite former players, with UEFA limiting each campaign to 20 places.
With his current qualifications, Kroos could work as an assistant coach, but he cannot yet take charge as a head coach in either the top flight or the Segunda División.
But completing that programme would allow Kroos to obtain the UEFA A licence, which would enable him to coach teams at any level.
