Eduardo Iturralde González harshly criticized the Technical Committee of Referees (CTA) of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), referring to the audio leaked by 'Jijantes' where its president, Luis Medina Cantalejo, talked about the expulsion and subsequent two-match ban against Hansi Flick during the Real Betis-FC Barcelona (2-2). That day, the referee Alejandro Muñiz Ruiz expelled the German coach for protesting a penalty against Barça, after a foul by Frenkie de Jong on Vitor Roque.
"This week, I have to say, we have seen the expulsion of a coach... May God come and see it! (..). Now it turns out that, for doing nothing, no matter how much I have seen it and so on, damn, damn... We also need to have a little flexibility when these things happen", said the president of the CTA during a refereeing seminar. In that sense, Medina Cantalejo warned about the criteria that referees should have to punish protests from the bench.
"Let the coach continue protesting there or wanting to have the last word: pac, warning. But I repeat, we will try by all means to be a little fairer", explained the former referee. In this regard, his former colleague, Iturralde González, harshly criticized the entire refereeing body of LaLiga, which he claims is "the worst he has seen", as Medina Cantalejo's words highlight the lack of unity in the CTA. "They are pitiful, this locker room is rotten", he said on the program 'Carrusel Deportivo', of the 'SER' network.
Iturralde González calls for order in the CTA with in-person meetings
For Iturralde, the president of the CTA only seeks to "look good" by pointing out the mistakes of his colleagues. "He is saying how things should be done, because some are allowed and others are not, and others are expelled at the slightest provocation". Therefore, he believes that the referees must analyze "where they want to go and not whom they want to attack". He also pointed out one of the possible solutions to prevent CTA conversations from leaking to the press, something that has happened on other occasions.
"The solution is to stop being at home, you will come to Madrid for the meeting and each one should leave their phone at the entrance", commented Iturralde González. The former referee stated that these types of situations cause a lot of harm to Spanish football, as they allow any phrase to be taken out of context to fuel controversy. Hansi Flick served his sanction against Leganés and Atlético, so he was able to return to the bench against Barbastro.