The new president of the Referee Committee (CTA) Fran Soto announced his new board for the referee organ on Monday and it was not surprising without controversy. One of the key figures about the new committee is a self -proclaimed fan of Real Madrid.
Los Blancos is one of the parties that have pushed the hardest for reform in the CTA, and after President of the Royal Spanish football federation Rafael Louzan decided to remove President Luis Medina Cantalejo, Soto was appointed the role. The media in Barcelona did not respond well to the agreements, which in their opinion have something of a Real Madrid theme.
Part of the restructuring of the CTA – which had a concept of popular support from the clubs – has included the appointment of a new committee to decide how referees are designated. According to Marca, that will include three former referees (Gregorio Bernabe Garcia, Jose Luis Lesma Lopez and Daniel Marcos Alvarez), a chosen club that is Sevilla, a representative of the Spanish player (AFE) who is Alvaro Negredo and a former coach, still chosen by De Rfefef.
Negredo, as well as representing Valencia, Almeria, Sevilla and Cadiz, is a former Real Madrid player, while if Cadena has noticed Ser's referee Correspondent that the only person who holds his job on the CTA board is Yolanda Parga. She is in charge of the League F referee, but is also married to former referee and current Real Madrid Matchday delegate Megia Davila.
The most controversial appointment is the addition of CHema Alonso, which is the new head of innovation and technology and AI. Alonso, 50, was a hacker in his younger days, but more recently went in cyber security to work for media giant Telefonica.
However, a number of messages on social media from Alonso have emerged. Phrases like 'I am a Madridista, Raulista and Ikerista', 'The referee is in Blauw and Barcelona is in Blauw and Claret, I leave it at that', and 'More than a club … a club and two referees' Die Alonso wrote on social media.
On top of Alonso's words, images are also spread from him for the Real Madrid trophy cabinet. His role in the committee will be to develop the tools that AI uses to assess referee performance and then recommend the ideal referee candidate for each game.