Rafael Louzán chairs a meeting of Spanish clubs in order to improve the refereeing.

For the first time in its history, this Wednesday, Spanish football came together as a whole to work together to improve the refereeing system through mutually agreed reforms.

All the professional clubs in LALIGA and Liga F, as well as representatives of the national teams, the Technical Committee of Referees and the referees themselves took part in the first meeting of the Commission for the Reform of the Refereeing System, with the meeting held in the Sala de Juntas of the Ciudad del Fútbol.

The meeting was preceded by a heartfelt tribute to the figure of referee David García de la Loma, whose family received a commemorative plaque from the president of the RFEF, in addition to the unanimous applause of all those attending the meeting.

Rafael Louzán then presided over a meeting that began with a general presentation of the current situation and functioning of Spanish refereeing by the CTA representatives, headed by its leader, Luis Medina Cantalejo.

Aspects such as the different models of refereeing organisation from around the world, the ways of involving all the players in the game in the day-to-day running of refereeing, the rating criteria of the referees or the division of the work for the improvement of the system were some of the issues covered during a meeting in which all the clubs were able to put forward their initiatives, resolve doubts and learn about the current functioning of the current system at close quarters.

For its part, the Competitions Commission organised by the RFEF with the clubs discussed the creation of working groups for the different tournaments. During the meeting at the Ciudad del Fútbol, the proposal to establish geographical proximity in the draw for the first rounds of the Copa del Rey was put on the table, as well as issues related to the competition calendars and the improvement of football facilities.

At the end of the meeting, the president of the RFEF was satisfied with the objectives of the meeting, pointing out that ‘this is the first step on a path that will lead to the reform of the refereeing system. It is the first time we have set something like this in motion and we are sure that, by all sitting at the same table, we can reach great agreements’.

For Louzán ‘we are still at the starting point, but we are, as ever, defending transparency. We have a set of rules and regulations that we are willing to modify as far as possible with the participation of all football’s stakeholders. The doors at the RFEF will always remain open.

The club representatives welcomed this pioneering initiative led by the RFEF, which from now on will be divided into regular meetings across different sectors within the framework of a Reform Commission which, as of Wednesday, has now become a fully operational body that will transfer its first improvements to the competitions for next season.