Spanish refereeing pays for its discredit and lack of skill at the FIFA Club World Cup.

Only two Spanish referees will be at the Club World Cup , which begins this weekend: Del Cerro Grande and Hernández Hernández. But not so fast. Neither will be the main on-field referee, and their work will be limited solely to VAR. In other words, of the 117 referees who will participate in the first Club World Cup in history, only two Spaniards will be present.

A strange decision, given that Spain has five referees in UEFA's elite group : Jesús Gil Manzano, José María Sánchez Martínez, Alejandro Hernández Hernández, Marta Huerta de Aza, and Olatz Rivera Olmedo. Of those mentioned, only Hernández Hernández will be on the VAR in the United States. Meanwhile, Brazil, Argentina, France, and England will have up to three representatives at the Club World Cup .

The blow to Spanish refereeing confirms FIFA and UEFA's distrust of the recent major international tournaments. At Euro 2024, Spain was the only one of the five major leagues with a single main referee : Gil Manzano. The Spanish referee left the Spanish refereeing system in tatters after officiating the 1-1 draw between Austria and France, causing a worldwide scandal that outraged Austrians and led UEFA to dismiss him after officiating a single match. Hernández Hernández and Martínez Munuera were in charge of VAR.

Surprise and discomfort of the CTA

" The bar is set very high after the great performances in recent FIFA tournaments , and when that happens, it's harder to maintain the level. However, we are working hard to ensure that Team One makes a decisive contribution to the success of this exciting competition," said Pierluigi Collina , Chairman of the FIFA Referees Committee.

For FIFA, Spanish referees have fallen short of that standard in a season where many of the clubs that make up LaLiga have felt wronged by refereeing decisions and have filed formal complaints. This newspaper asked a source from the CTA about the decision, and they point the finger at FIFA. "They've trusted other countries more, but... it's a FIFA issue . I don't know what they based their decision on," they point out.

"The Negreira Case is not helping"

" The level of Spanish refereeing is extremely high , probably in the top three among European referees. We have little doubt that we can guarantee a good service to football in Spain," explained González Fuertes at the historic press conference prior to the Copa del Rey final between Barça and Real Madrid last April. FIFA didn't see it the same way.

The decision didn't go down well with the Technical Committee of Referees (CTA) . This is how president Luis Medina Cantalejo expressed it in an interview with Marca . " It's a blow . I've spoken with FIFA and UEFA, not to ask for explanations, but to find out what's going on. There has been some surprise because our referees are officiating everything. If in the end none of them go, it would be the first time in many years and it would be unfair because we have very high-quality referees ," he stated.

A trend that confirms the discredit of Spanish refereeing in recent years and the absence of high-quality referees to replace, for example, Mateu Lahoz . This is how some retired Spanish referees see it. "The level has been what it has been for several years," one former referee tells this newspaper. "The Negreira case doesn't help," another asserts. The distrust in Spanish referees is reflected in their absence from major international and continental tournaments.

"When there are negative situations, it worries us , because clubs, especially the big ones, do a lot for football, not just in their city or country, but around the world. We're all human, we make mistakes, and we'll analyze what happened in Spain to see how it can be resolved," said FIFA President Gianni Infantino.