Estrada Fernández reveals the fear of the referees when refereeing Real Madrid

The current statements by Xavier Estrada Fernández have reopened a historic debate on arbitration in Spain. The previous referee defined on Rubén Uría’s channel how the strain is skilled when refereeing Actual Madrid video games. Estrada Fernández was a First Division referee between 2009 and 2021, accumulating intensive expertise within the elite. Throughout that stage, the now former referee skilled conditions that deeply marked his skilled and private profession.

Refereeing Actual Madrid, a dangerous sport

In his dialog with Rubén Uría, Estrada Fernández recounted a selected episode with Cristiano Ronaldo in 2009. That second, as he explains, was key to understanding the concern of many referees when refereeing towards Actual Madrid. “I reported him to Cristiano Ronaldo in 2009,” Estrada Fernández said forcefully throughout the interview. The previous referee acknowledged that, after that match, he started to note direct penalties on his refereeing profession.

The episode occurred in one among Cristiano Ronaldo’s first conferences on the Santiago Bernabéu. The Portuguese, just lately arrived from Manchester United, was the good media determine in European soccer at the moment. In accordance with Estrada Fernández, Cristiano Ronaldo already had a yellow card throughout that league match. In an motion on the wing, the ahead confronted an Almería participant and ended up being despatched off.

Penalties of expelling Cristiano

“Cristiano had yellow and on one of many wings he received right into a combat with an Almería participant and I despatched him off,” he defined. The referee’s choice unleashed a collection of occasions that confirmed the strain round Actual Madrid. After the sport, the referee went right down to the locker room to congratulate him on his general efficiency. Nonetheless, the scenario modified radically within the hours that adopted, in accordance with Estrada Fernández.

It is rather troublesome to clarify higher the way it works.https://t.co/g7mX6xOS2U

— Rubén Uría (@rubenuria) February 10, 2026

The following day, he obtained a name from Sánchez Arminio that marked a earlier than and after. “With the little name it was clear that he did not prefer it,” the previous referee recalled with evident candor. Estrada Fernández defined that the media magnified the expulsion of Cristiano Ronaldo. This media focus, in accordance with him, generates actual concern amongst referees when making related selections.

“The conclusion is that till that second I used to be not conscious that I used to be a First Division referee,” he mirrored. After that expulsion, he started to note how any element associated to Actual Madrid was exaggerated. The results didn’t take lengthy to reach for Estrada Fernández inside the Spanish arbitration institution. The referee didn’t referee Actual Madrid once more for the rest of that season. Moreover, he spent three full years with out stepping foot within the Santiago Bernabéu stadium, a very revealing reality.