A former Spanish referee recalls the 'punishment' he suffered after sending off Cristiano in 2009

The new 'war' between Real Madrid and LaLiga and the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) unleashed after the controversial performance of Muñiz Ruiz during the 'merengues' visit to Espanyol, is a new chapter of the usual 'whining' and the media pressure from the 'White House' demanding refereeing favors. In this regard, the former Catalan referee Xavier Estrada Fernández recalled a similar episode that occurred in 2009, during his first season in the Spanish Primera División.

Estrada Fernández had to officiate a Madrid-Almería match on December 5 at the Santiago Bernabéu. The former referee recalls that the match seemed like a simple formality for the whites, but Almería came back from Sergio Ramos' initial goal with two goals in the second half. Manuel Pellegrini's team struggled more than expected to come back, but in the final minutes, controversy arose with Cristiano Ronaldo as the protagonist. The Portuguese was also newly arrived in LaLiga.

"Cristiano scored a goal (the final 4-2, in the 84'), there I showed him the first yellow for taking off his shirt; after (four minutes), after a scuffle with an Almería player, I showed him the yellow. Had I seen it better, I would have shown him the red directly. Since it was the second, he was sent off anyway," explained Estrada Fernández. Despite having made the right decision, Madrid fans exploded over 'CR7's' expulsion, which led to the Catalan being 'punished'.

Estrada Fernández went two years without officiating Madrid

"The media uproar that the expulsion caused in the following days was brutal. Because of that highly publicized expulsion, the Committee always wants to protect itself from what is written... That's why in my case, even though I could act correctly, I went two years without officiating Real Madrid again," added the former Catalan referee. In that sense, the Lérida native considers the pressure from such a large club unnecessary, especially when other mistakes often benefit them, citing as an example the Copa match against Celta.

Additionally, Estrada Fernández also criticized the work of the Technical Refereeing Committee (CTA), as he believes that "for many years there has been no direction from the Committee to solve all these controversies. This creates a long shadow over all game situations because there are no guidelines that people can believe in. Referees are fed up with being in the freezer, on the bench, and always being the ones in the spotlight," pointed out the former Spanish referee.