Real Madrid’s 1-0 win over Getafe on Sunday returned them to La Liga summit, yet it did more than shuffle the standings – it revived the bitter, enduring debate over whether Spain’s referees favor Los Blancos.
Barcelona, now trailing by two point, are fuming.
And with the first El Clasico of the 2025-26 season set for next Sunday at the Santiago Bernabeu, the air is thick with suspicion, resentment and the familiar cry: “Penalties for them, reds for us.”
Real Madrid’s trip to the Coliseum Alfonso Perez was supposed to be a routine away challenge.
Instead, it became a flashpoint.
Two red cards to Getafe – both highly debated – tilted the contest before Kylian Mbappe delivered the decisive blow assisted by Turkish star Arda Güler.
The first flashpoint came in the 77th minute when Getafe’s Allan Nyom was sent off just two minutes after getting onto the pitch.
While contact was clear, a straight red can be viewed as excessive, emblematic of a league that has grown overly punitive in its protection of stars, especially Vinicius Jr. who is well known for being a diver.
Down to ten men, Getafe couldn't handle the pressure, as Güler’s defense-splitting pass released Mbappe, who rifled home his ninth league goal of the campaign.
But the game’s real controversy came earlier in the game.
Getafe’s Borja Mayoral appeared to be clipped by Eder Militao in the box – contact that slowed his stride and sent him tumbling.
Referee Miguel Cuadrado Garcia waved play on and VAR, overseen by Alejandro Hernandez Hernandez, declined to intervene.
Just minutes later, Getafe were reduced to nine when Alex Sancris’ minimal touch on Vinicius who visibly exaggerated the foul earned him a second yellow and of course, his marching orders.
Getafe’s coach Jose Bordalas exploded afterward, calling it “blind injustice.”
The stats appear to back him: 65% of this season’s red cards have gone to bottom-half teams.
For Madrid, it was business as usual – another clean sheet, another win and another round of criticism that the scales of justice tip in their favor.
Madrid’s win lifted them to 24 points from nine matches, narrowly edging Barcelona (22) and extending their unbeaten run to 12 league games.
Yet the conversation in Spain’s sports press wasn’t about Mbappe’s brilliance or Güler’s stardom – it was about the perceived pattern of refereeing fortune that has followed Madrid for years.
Earlier, a few hundred kilometers north, Barcelona endured a night that encapsulated their simmering frustration.
Their 2-1 victory over Girona kept them within touching distance of the top but left their faith in officiating hanging by a thread.
Pedri’s early goal had Barcelona in control before Axel Witsel’s acrobatic equalizer flipped the tone.
The game’s pivotal moment came in the 61st minute when defender Pau Cubarsi sent home what looked like a legitimate goal – only for VAR to chalk it off for a phantom shove in the buildup.
Slow-motion replays showed barely a touch, yet the ever-controversial referee Jesus Gil Manzano held firm.
The Catalans’ fury deepened when Marcus Rashford was brought down in the box with no penalty awarded.
Moments later, manager Hansi Flick – already on a yellow for protesting – was shown a second and sent off for “aggressive dissent.”
His post-match words were telling: “Football is emotion. The referee refused dialogue.”
Barcelona president Joan Laporta wasted no time in denouncing the officiating, filing an appeal to overturn Flick’s suspension and declaring that “a system rigged against us” was at play.
Data seems to lend weight to his frustration: Gil Manzano has booked or dismissed Barcelona personnel in 80% of his matches involving the club over the past decade.
Even the heroics of Ronald Araujo, who volleyed home a last-gasp winner, couldn’t mask the anger. “Every big moment, every big game – it’s the same,” Laporta said. “Decisions cut against us while others walk free.”
At the heart of Spain’s refereeing storm lies a familiar number – six.
That’s how many penalties Real Madrid have already been awarded this season, nearly double the next closest team and five more than Barcelona. None have been missed.
In five seasons, Madrid have earned 52 penalties in league play – more than any other club – and conceded just 22.
Their 2025-26 conversion rate is a flawless 100%, led by Mbappe, Bellingham and Vinicius.
Critics call it “the Mbappe effect,” suggesting referees are subconsciously swayed by the Frenchman’s electric runs and theatrical tumbles.
A UEFA-commissioned study in 2024 found that Spanish referees award 18% more penalties to top-three teams than to mid-table sides – a disparity Madrid exemplify.
While the RFEF insists its referees apply IFAB guidelines “without favoritism,” the optics are harder to defend.
Even Madrid’s spotless record of avoiding major officiating errors in key games raises suspicion.
Laporta has seized on these numbers to argue that “the game is becoming predictable.”
In response, Madrid president Florentino Perez has called for “neutral foreign referees” for high-stakes fixtures, deflecting criticism by pointing to Barcelona’s 2023 Negreira scandal.
Still, perception is reality and Madrid’s unbroken penalty streak remains a lightning rod for distrust.
La Liga thrives on rivalry, but even fierce competition needs credibility.
Across fan bases, pundits and locker rooms, a growing unease surrounds officiating integrity.
Villarreal coach Marcelino called it “a crisis of trust.” Atletico’s Diego Simeone remarked that “referees look more confident when blowing against smaller clubs.”
For Barcelona, this season echoes an old story: their triumphs – like last season’s 90-point march to the title – are treated as exceptions, not the rule.
For Madrid, every win, however convincing, comes with an asterisk in rival fans’ eyes.
League president Javier Tebas, an openly Madridista, has announced a midseason referee audit to address “inconsistencies and image issues.” Yet as one Spanish columnist put it, “You can’t audit belief.”
All roads now lead to Oct. 26.
The first El Clasico of the season at the Bernabeu and it promises more than just football – it’s a referendum on fairness.
Mbappe, in unstoppable form with 12 goals across all competitions, faces Flick’s tactical mind – if his ban is overturned.
Barcelona will be also count on teenage sensation Lamine Yamal, who has just returned from a groin injury.
The assigned referee – rumored to be Isidro Diaz de Mera – will enter a pressure cooker unlike any other.
Every whistle will be dissected, every call magnified.
As former Barcelona defender Gerard Pique tweeted: “Same story. Same whistle. Different year.”
