Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has taken legal action after excerpts of VAR audio from Real Madrid’s 3-2 victory over Almería were leaked.
Journalist Gerard Romero published conversations between referee Francisco.
José Hernández Maeso and VAR official Alejandro Hernández are discussing potential acts of aggression by Vinícius Júnior of Madrid and Almería’s Chumi.
Notably, none of these interactions resulted in Hernández Maeso reversing his initial on-field decisions or reviewing the incidents on the pitch-side monitor.
The leaked clips specifically cover instances when the screen was not utilised, unlike decisions related to Madrid’s first two goals and a disallowed Almería strike in the second half, which involved VAR review.
The RFEF had introduced a new initiative last month to release audio if the referee had been sent to the monitor.
“On Tuesday, we filed a report with the Guardia Civil [the Spanish police] after the publication of audios from the VAR system, which are of a completely private and professional scope, relating to the LaLiga match between Real Madrid and Almería,” the RFEF said in a statement.
“We have also opened an internal investigation and consider the aforementioned infraction extremely serious. We hope that a response will be found as soon as possible to clarify who is responsible.
“Meanwhile, all necessary measures will be taken to ensure the security of all RFEF communications.”
In the first conversation revealed by Romero, Hernández Maeso and Hernández Hernández assess an incident where Vinícius appears to make contact with Alejandro Pozo’s face using his elbow. However, they conclude that there is insufficient evidence to warrant VAR intervention.
In the second exchange, they scrutinise a clash between Chumi and Madrid’s Dani Ceballos, where Ceballos falls to the ground after the contact. Nonetheless, they decide to maintain the on-pitch decision of not awarding anything.
On both occasions, the referee was not summoned to the screen, in contrast to three other instances in the second half when Madrid rallied from a 2-0 deficit to secure a 3-2 victory.
After reviewing replays, Hernández Maeso awarded Madrid a penalty for handball, disallowed an Almería goal due to a foul by Dion Lopy on Jude Bellingham in the build-up, and allowed Vinícius’ equaliser, deeming the contact high enough to validate the goal. Initially, all three decisions were against Madrid.
Madrid ultimately clinched the win with a 99th-minute goal from Dani Carvajal, keeping them within one point of La Liga leaders Girona with a game in hand.
In December, the RFEF and LaLiga announced that conversations between referees and VAR would be publicly disclosed under a new agreement between the two organisations.
Consequently, discussions occurring during the review of incidents using the pitch-side monitor are made available to broadcasters after the conclusion of each day’s matches.