CTA will take action after Elche-Real Madrid, Fran Soto already warned: 'At the very least...'

Matchday 13 of LaLiga featured Elche-Real Madrid, which took place last night at the Martínez Valero. On paper, the match was supposed to be a mere formality for Xabi Alonso's team, who made several changes to the starting eleven after the international break. However, as has become customary, Elche surprised everyone and managed to secure a very well-deserved draw against a theoretically much stronger team.

Not only that, because if it hadn't been for the actions of referee Francisco Hernández and the VAR, led by Melero López, Elche would have taken all three points. Éder Sarabia's team delivered a very complete performance, aggressive in pressing and bold with the ball. Real Madrid, meanwhile, once again looked sluggish, uninspired, and highly dependent on individual talent.

Controversy reigned in Elche-Real Madrid

The match was heavily marked by refereeing controversy, which ended up overshadowing the strictly soccer analysis. First, Huijsen's goal was preceded by a clear handball by Bellingham inside the box. The play was reviewed by the VAR, but Melero López ruled that there was no punishable offense, a decision that has outraged everyone in the Elche camp.

The second controversial play came with Real Madrid's second goal. In that play, Vinícius Júnior collided with Iñaki Peña inside the six-yard box, an area historically protected for goalkeepers. Despite the obvious contact and Elche's protests, neither Francisco Hernández on the field nor the VAR considered the play a foul.

The anger in Elche is enormous, and rightly so. The Elche club feels that the effort of their players hasn't been rewarded due to two extremely significant refereeing decisions. Beyond the result, the feeling is that the rules haven't been applied with the same criteria in both boxes.

Fran Soto warned of the consequences of the CTA on COPE

That's why, following the criteria publicly set by the president of the CTA, Fran Soto, the body in charge of referee appointments will have to take urgent measures. The media pressure and the uproar caused make an institutional response virtually inevitable. The refereeing group itself knows that, in order to keep their credibility, they must accept consequences when mistakes are so obvious.

In fact, if we take into account what Fran Soto said on Friday on COPE, Francisco Hernández and Melero López could spend several weeks on the sidelines. The top official of the CTA already explained that this season "there have been several suspensions" when the refereeing level hasn't been up to standard. It's not an empty threat, but an internal control tool that the Committee is using with some frequency.

Fran Soto also explained that this decision is made "when the mistake is of some significance or there are several in the same match". In Elche, both of these circumstances are present: we're talking about two crucial plays that determined the final result, and in both cases the refereeing criteria have been, at the very least, questionable. In this context, it's very difficult to justify that there are no consequences for the refereeing team.

Everything suggests that the well-known "suspension" will be applied to the two referees involved. They could be, at a minimum, one week without officiating, although everything indicates that it will be two matchdays lost due to the seriousness of what happened. For Elche, it will be a short sanction compared to the sporting damage caused, but at least it will mean an acknowledgment that the refereeing at the Martínez Valero wasn't up to standard.