From a request for respect for referees to a harsh criticism: "You can't talk to them, but they make rude and ridiculous comments"

While waiting for the first meetings to study a modification of the refereeing system to begin to bear tangible fruit, refereeing in Spain is unable to escape the eye of the storm . In the elite and in the categories further away from the spotlight, such as the Second Federation. It was there where the president of a team, Gimnástica Torrelavega , let off steam in the press room to strongly criticize the attitude of the referees on the playing fields.

Siro del Barrio , president of the Cantabrian club since 2021, sat down before the media on his own initiative after his team's goalless draw against Coruxo. A result that leaves Gimnástica Torrelavega, who finished the match with nine players, in seventeenth position in Group 1, nine away from safety.

However, the club's boss did not take the floor to point out the referee for his decisions but for his attitude . «The first thing we have to say and clarify is that this situation is our own, it is not an excuse. We are not going with 20 points because of the referees or because it is a plot against Gimnástica... I am not here to talk about the refereeing errors, because like any player, president or coach they are human and they make mistakes... but I am talking about the attitude of the referees, not only in these games but those that can be seen on TV ... a bit of arrogance, haughtiness and not being able to communicate with him .»

"The referee is a person who is part of this circus, of this business, of this sport... and he cannot be outside of it," he added. The players cannot speak to the referee either badly, obviously, or well, they cannot speak to him, but the referee is capable of making rude and ridiculous comments, as has been done to me by the reporters, telling me that the mistakes are ours, that we did not make any mistakes, that we should not blame them..."

For Del Barrio, "these comments are unnecessary and they inflame people." "A referee, so that people know, in the Second Federation costs the club between 2,200 and 2,300 euros per referee . No player in this category, at least in our club and I think in seventy percent of the clubs, earns this amount, not even close... and the level is not the same. I think that behaviour is as important as know-how ."

"The way of addressing the players and the coaching staff has to be much calmer and with a much lower profile (...). This has reached a point that is unsustainable, and they practically come here, and I understand that in all fields, with an impunity that cannot be ," he assured the media.

"I went out onto the pitch to try to talk to them so they could stay calm, that the police had been notified so they wouldn't have any problems, and they practically pushed me aside and told me to go to them, when all you're trying to do is help," lamented the manager of the Cantabrian club.

"If this doesn't change, it will eventually explode somewhere and I think it will be bad for football, the players, the board, the teams and for the referees. One thing is that they have to be respected , like any other person, that they have the right to make mistakes and another thing is that they also have the obligation to treat people and their colleagues in the profession (...) with the same respect that they ask for . And that is not happening. And it is something that is happening in Spanish football," he insisted after confirming that "the relevant complaint will be made to the referees' committee."