The reporter reported coldly Real Madrid lost 1-0 to relegation rivals Espanyol last weekend, with Real Madrid blaming the defeat on two controversial penalties in the game. In the days that followed, the situation became more intense.

The day after the match, Real Madrid submitted a formal protest to the Spanish Football Federation, pointing out that the "misjudgment" in the game far exceeded the scope of "human error" or "penalty scale", and was "the epitome of the complete collapse of the credibility of the Spanish refereeing system". The protest also stressed that the penalties against Real Madrid this season have been reduced to "a tool for systematic game manipulation, with malice and injustice that cannot be ignored." "Marca newspaper published Real Madrid's protest in full on Monday, pushing Real Madrid's complaints against Spanish referees this season to the top.

What particularly makes Real Madrid angry is that before the game against Espanyol, Real Madrid President Florentino had complained to Lausanne, president of the Spanish Football Federation, saying that Real Madrid had suffered too much in the referee's judgment this season, and hoped to change the ecology of the Spanish referee circle and introduce foreign referees, especially Premier League referees, to maintain the fairness of the game. As a result, in the game, Spanish referee Ruiz opened the net for Romero's "red card" foul of kicking Mbappe's calf in the back, and only gave the latter a yellow card.

In response to Real Madrid's blatant challenge to the authority of the referee, the Spanish Football Federation issued a response notice on Tuesday, stressing that respect for the referee must be maintained first. In response to the content of Real Madrid's strongly worded protest, the Spanish Football Federation expressed deep regret for "the fierce rhetoric that questioned the integrity of the refereeing body and the operation mechanism of the entire competition", stressing that it will not only affect the referee community, but also erode the credibility of the entire football sport.

Although the response of the Spanish Football Federation was neither humble nor arrogant, it still suspended the referee Ruiz and VAR referee Villanova for one game as punishment. On the 6th, the Spanish Football Federation organized La Liga, La B clubs, professional leagues and referee committees to gather together, hoping to ease the relationship between clubs and referees through dialogue. But Real Madrid still did not give up, and announced as early as Tuesday night after receiving notice that they would not attend the dialogue meeting. Real Madrid's move is tantamount to continuing to stand on the opposite side of the Spanish Football Federation and the refereeing community, turning the situation from a protest to a "war" against the Spanish referee by Real Madrid.

Real Madrid's attitude of challenging the authority of the entire Spanish refereeing community naturally caused widespread dissatisfaction among Spanish referees. Spanish referees have refused to accept small gifts traditionally given by Real Madrid before matches for six consecutive games, and some referees are even considering a strike to protest against the provocation of referee authority by Real Madrid-led clubs.

The Spanish media generally believe that this is Real Madrid's usual means of pressuring the referee from public opinion, including Real Madrid TV often pointing out controversial decisions that are unfavorable to Real Madrid, which puts the referee under huge public opinion pressure. A number of La Liga teams, including Atletico Madrid, Sevilla and Athletic Bilbao, expressed their dissatisfaction with Real Madrid's move, and Barcelona legend Pique even said that "Real Madrid has been doing this for 120 years".

But the newspaper AS reminds everyone that Real Madrid's protest bears the signature of the club's secretary of the board of directors, De La Valle, a retired barrister who has worked with the president for more than half a century. This means that Real Madrid is not just protesting, but is likely determined to challenge the Spanish refereeing system. Although Tebas, the president of the Spanish Professional League, who has always been at odds with the Spanish Football Federation, expressed his dissatisfaction with Real Madrid's public protest against the referee's behavior, he chose to "stand on the side of Real Madrid" regarding the reform of the refereeing system.

Real Madrid are considering filing a lawsuit in the administrative or even criminal courts, asking the Spanish Football Federation to provide a recording of the conversation between the referee and the VAR referee on Romero versus Mbappe during the match between Real Madrid and Espanyol. However, the Spanish Football Federation is not obliged to release the referee recordings to the clubs, and only a court decision can compel the Spanish Football Federation to make the recordings public. If Real Madrid really goes to court with the Spanish Football Federation, this "war" with the referee may intensify.