Atletico Madrid Accuse Real Madrid of Pressuring Referees Ahead of Derby
The Madrid Derby is heating up both on and off the pitch. On Wednesday, February 7, Atletico Madrid publicly accused Real Madrid of using its official television channel to pressure referees ahead of their LaLiga EA Sports showdown on Saturday, February 10, at the Santiago Bernabéu.
Atletico's Indirect Jab at Real Madrid
Through its official account on X, Atletico Madrid posted a message titled "Basic Instructions", accompanied by an infographic that sarcastically outlines the "preparation" for the derby.
The graphic humorously suggests four key steps in match preparation:
- Proper physical training
- Pre-match massage
- Thorough analysis of the opponent
- "Using your official television, once again, to pressure referees", alongside an image of a phone displaying the controversial tackle by Carlos Romero (Espanyol) on Kylian Mbappé, which occurred during Real Madrid’s 1-0 defeat against Espanyol on February 1.
The fourth point in Atlético’s post directly references Real Madrid's recent formal complaint to the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) and the Higher Sports Council (CSD), in which the club protested against what it called an "outrageous refereeing performance" in their loss to Espanyol.
Atletico Madrid Use the RAE to Heat Up the Derby Against Real Madrid
As the highly anticipated Real Madrid vs. Atlético de Madrid clash approaches, the Colchoneros have sparked controversy with a provocative social media post. Through their official X account, Atlético de Madrid reached out to the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) for definitions of terms such as "press," "intimidate," "coerce," "influence," and "threaten"—a clear jab at Real Madrid following their recent official complaint about refereeing decisions.
The Atlético post read:
"Dear friends at @RAEinforma, we've been asked about this a lot lately, and we don’t want to get it wrong. Could you help us with the nuances of the following verbs? Press, intimidate, coerce, threaten, influence, impose. Thank you."
Though Los Rojiblancos never explicitly mentioned Real Madrid, the timing and wording of the post strongly suggest it was directed at their city rivals. Just days earlier, Real Madrid submitted a formal complaint to the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) and the Spanish Higher Sports Council (CSD), denouncing what they called "scandalous refereeing" in their 1-0 loss to Espanyol.
