Spain's Referees' Committee has an official complaint about both Villarreal president Fernando Roig and Barcelona defender Gerard Pique following their criticisms of the refereeing in Real Madrid's 3-2 win at Villarreal on Sunday evening, a Spanish FA source has told ESPN FC.
The performance of referee Jesus Gil Manzano in that La Liga match has come under much scrutiny, after league leaders Madrid were awarded a questionable penalty for a handball on Villarreal's Bruno Soriano -- which was converted by Cristiano Ronaldo to make the score 2-2.
After the game Roig heavily criticised the performance of the officials, while also saying it seemed strange to him that the referees left the stadium carrying "Real Madrid bags."
Watching at home, Pique posted images of four news stories from Madrid-based newspapers complaining that decisions going in Los Blancos' favour have resulted in an eight-point swing in the title race.
Contra los mismos equipos. 8 puntos. 8 y tal. Los recortes son de prensa de Madrid por la duda. pic.twitter.com/nZUDgrjuVd
- Gerard Piqué (@3gerardpique) February 26, 2017
A Spanish FA (RFEF) source has confirmed to ESPN FC that the Comite Tecnico de Arbitros (CTA) have made an official complaint to the RFEF's competition committee, asking for punishment to be handed out to both Roig and Pique for their comments.
Roig had gone on to say that he "did not know" what was in the Real Madrid branded bags carried by the referees after Sunday's game. Catalan outlet Iupsort claimed that the CTA are angry at their members' honour being hurt by allegations of bribery.
The CTA reportedly told Marca that the bags had contained official merchandising such as "keychains, pins and pens," and the practice of referees receiving low-value gifts of this type is apparently common in Spain. The RFEF source told ESPN FC that officials receiving "merchandise products" from a club was "nothing more than a mere anecdote" and not something they gave importance to.
Pique's social media use has drawn attention from the authorities before, with no final punishments being handed down. Barca board spokesperson Josep Vives said that he did not think any punishment was merited in this case, while adding that the club would consider their position before making any comment themselves.
"We have said that we respect Gerard because we feel what he wrote was him exercising his right to freedom of expression," Vives said at a news conference. "We don't feel it is something which should be sanctionable. We will consider the arguments before making [further comment] on this topic. [Pique] expressed his idea, his feelings and his opinion. He talked about concrete facts. It's not a feeling, it's data, but we do not want to damage ourselves."
On Tuesday Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said he was proud that his players stay away from criticising referees.
At a news conference ahead of Wednesday's La Liga clash with Las Palmas at the Bernabeu, the Los Blancos coach agreed that such issues were often "exaggerated," while saying he was happy that his players generally kept quiet and maintained their respect for the officials.
"It is clear that things are exaggerated," Zidane said. "I do not get into this with referees, my players do not either. I do not agree with [Roig's] words, but nothing else. Everybody can give their own opinions, a player, a president, whoever. Nobody can stop them talking. But I am very proud of my players who respect the referees and everybody who works for the good of football."