Enrique Cerezo, president of Atlético de Madrid, stated that the issue with referees is that they’ve "lost a lot of authority with VAR" and argued that there is no difference between refereeing in domestic and European competitions, contrary to what Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti said.

The influence of VAR on refereeing authority

"I always say the same thing. The referee must be respected, and we have to keep in mind that it’s him who has to lead the match, and the rest are always assumptions that we won’t agree with. The problem with referees is that they’ve lost a lot of authority with VAR," commented Cerezo this Monday during the ceremony revealing the nominees for the Laureus Awards in Madrid, where he also mentioned that he doesn’t see any difference between refereeing in Europe and in La Liga.

Atlético de Madrid’s confidence ahead of the Real Madrid match

The day before the first-leg clash of the Champions League round of 16 against Real Madrid, Cerezo expressed confidence in the performance that Diego Simeone's team will show at the Santiago Bernabéu.

"We always go out to win, no matter the field, and of course, we will here as well. It’s a Champions League match, and our goal is to get to the quarterfinals and be among the eight best teams in Europe, and that’s what we’re focused on," said the Atlético de Madrid president.

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