Atlético de Madrid has once again sent a direct message on their social media, calling for an end to the "harassment" of referees. The club condemned what they described as a "machinery" that, according to them, has been operating for several weeks, putting referees under pressure, though they didn’t specifically name any individuals responsible.

Atlético de Madrid’s Message

In their post, Atlético de Madrid made their frustration clear by stating: “The machinery has been running for several weeks and crushes everything in its path. Let’s see who dares to enforce justice knowing they could be next...” The message was accompanied by the hashtag #StopRefereeHarassmentNow and was sent to the official accounts of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the Technical Committee of Referees, LaLiga, and the Higher Sports Council. They also attached an image of a "danger, machinery in operation" sign.

A Long-Standing Story

This latest statement follows a series of messages from the club ahead of the derby against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu. On that occasion, after Real Madrid issued a statement complaining about the refereeing following their loss to Espanyol, Atlético de Madrid published a series of ironic posts, starting with a query to the Royal Spanish Academy about the meaning of verbs like "pressurize, intimidate, coerce, scare, influence, impose."

These were followed by images accusing Real Madrid of "using their official TV station to pressure referees" and "deploying their army of friendly journalists to spread their delusions." Finally, the day before the derby, Atlético de Madrid expressed their support for the referee team, saying: “We want to send all our support and solidarity to the referee team and their families and friends. These have been very tough days for the football family. Stay strong.”