“We must stop with this nonsense" - Antoine Griezmann and other Atletico stars react when asked about Real Madrid's referee complaints

Antoine Greizmann and other Atletico Madrid players have reacted to Real Madrid's complaints about refereeing standards in La Liga. After their controversial 1-0 loss to Espanyol, which had officiating errors, the club submitted a formal complaint to the Spanish Football Federation.

When asked about this ahead of the Madrid derby this weekend (February 8), Antoine Griezmann made it clear that Real Madrid's complaints were "nonsense". He said on Movistar (via Madrid Universal):

“We must stop with this nonsense, because for me it is nonsense. In the end, it is you, the journalists, who will make it a bigger issue or not. Ultimately, if you do not say anything, if the clubs issue a statement and no one talks about it, there will not be so much tension for the referees.”

Griezmann continued:

“Now, the referee is probably going to the stadium with fear of making a mistake because they know that everyone is watching them, and that is not good for the referee."

“We must leave them alone, they already have enough dealing with us on the field, without having to bear the nonsense off the field as well. I believe it is everyone’s fault – clubs, presidents, journalists – they all need to leave the referees alone, they already have enough with us on the field.”

Other players like Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Jan Oblak asked Real Madrid to "leave referees in peace". Defender Jose Gimenez also revealed his hopes that Los Blancos' decision would not make the referees feel "affected or pressured" ahead of their upcoming derby.

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What Real Madrid's open letter to the Spanish Football Federation states

During Real Madrid's loss to Espanyol, Carlos Romero tackled Kylian Mbappe poorly, and the defender controversially did not receive a red card. He stayed on, eventually scoring the winning goal in the 85th minute to seal Los Blancos' loss.

The Spanish giants did not take it lightly, slamming the refereeing decision in their open letter, which included the following statements (via Managing Madrid):

“The events that occurred in this match have exceeded any margin of human error or referee interpretation. What happened at the RCDE Stadium represents the culmination of a completely discredited refereeing system..."

“This refereeing scandal is not an isolated case. The Spanish refereeing system is completely flawed... The serious structural problems of Spanish refereeing have been exposed in recent years... there has been no real reform or effective accountability.”

Real Madrid's complaints have not sat well with La Liga president Javier Tebas, who has threatened that the club could face a lawsuit.