Atletico Madrid mock Real Madrid with social media post after Los Blancos' complaint about referees ahead of derby

Atletico Madrid have taken to social media to mock Real Madrid ahead of their La Liga derby this weekend. That comes amidst Los Blancos' complaints about refereeing standards. The two sides face off at the Santiago Bernabeu on Thursday (February 8).

Atletico shared a post with four points as "basic instructions for the derby". It revealed "Good physical preparation", "Pre-match massage" and "A detailed analysis of the opponent" as the first three points. The fourth point, notably, was "Once again, use your TV channel to pressure the referee":

The Spanish giants have regularly shared their displeasure with the referees in La Liga, and their TV has come under fire for complaining about referees in recent times. The TV channel has criticised referees ahead of games in the past (via Forbes), while Sevilla have also accused them of influencing referees (via GOAL).

In their last match against RCD Espanyol on February 1, Real Madrid lost 1-0. It was a controversial match, as Carlos Romero - the player who scored for Espanyol - nearly got sent off before his goal after a poor tackle on Kylian Mbappe. The Spanish champions were displeased with referee Alejandro Muniz Ruiz, which they expressed in a letter to the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF).

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La Liga president responds to Real Madrid criticism of referees

La Liga president Javier Tebas has responded to Real Madrid's criticism of referees after the club wrote a damning letter to the RFEF. The letter questioned the refereeing standards. It warned that restoring refereeing credibility required "comprehensive reform that includes, as an essential element, the replacement of those referees..." (via GOAL).

Tebas has responded, admitting that he's not surprised by Los Blancos' comments, He said (via Football Espana):

“I was not at all surprised by Real Madrid’s letter, as it does not say anything different from what their television channel has been repeating for some time.

“Many of us advocate a radical change in the refereeing system, moving closer to the English or German model, with a completely different organisation and much more transparency in all the structural decisions of Spanish arbitration.”

Tebas then questioned the Spanish giants' decision to oppose such a change when it came to a vote:

“What is truly striking is that, at a LaLiga meeting on April 19, 2023, we debated and even voted on this change, and Real Madrid opposed it, appearing lukewarm and without proposing solutions.

"Could it have something to do with the fact that, at that time, Rubiales was the president of the RFEF and Florentino Perez was a member of the RFEF Board of Directors? And notice that the “Negreira” case was already in court, and Real Madrid took weeks to get involved. Why?"

Los Blancos are in the Copa del Rey quarter-final, where they face Leganes at the Estadio Municipal de Butarque on Wednesday (February 5).