Once again, and as has been customary in recent times, Real Madrid, through its television channel, Real Madrid TV, has dedicated its spaces to criticize the referee appointed for their upcoming matches. On this occasion, the Madridistas have directed a series of criticisms towards the referee José María Sánchez Martínez, the official assigned for the match they will play on October 26 against FC Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabéu, corresponding to matchday 11 of LaLiga EA Sports.
On this occasion, Real Madrid has chosen to release a video lasting just over three minutes that focuses on criticizing the refereeing of the Murcian referee. This video starts by presenting a statistic highlighting that Real Madrid has a 61% win rate when this referee officiates, with the main complaint of Real Madrid TV being that, with this statistic in mind, 39% of the matches end in a draw or victory for the Madridistas, a figure they consider high.
Furthermore, the criticism extends to the fact that when Sánchez Martínez officiates FC Barcelona, the Blaugrana team enjoys a higher percentage of victories, with 76% of matches ending in a positive result and only 24% in draws or defeats, which is the subject of complaint by Real Madrid TV.
Real Madrid TV's Criticism of Sánchez Martínez
After presenting this statistic, the video goes on to recall a series of alleged errors that, according to Real Madrid TV, have harmed the Merengues, citing controversies from matchday 23 of LaLiga EA Sports against Atlético de Madrid last season (1-1), in which it is alleged that there were up to three errors by referee Sánchez Martínez. Controversies from a match against RCD Mallorca in the 2021-22 season, with two alleged overlooked red cards, are also mentioned, along with other incidents from several more matches.
Finally, the audiovisual material concludes, as is customary in this type of referee criticism, with a segment showing Sánchez Martínez talking about his experience in an article published by the Real Federación Española de Fútbol (RFEF) in 2015 about his debut in La Liga. This episode once again reflects Real Madrid's unfortunate tendency to constantly question referees, creating an atmosphere of uncertainty and predisposition towards the referee, which adds an additional layer of complexity to their work, which is already extremely complex in matches of the magnitude of a Clásico between the two biggest teams in Spain.