UEFA's handling of the Cucurella case is the reason for the absence of Spanish referees in Champions League. According to 'Tiempo de Juego', UEFA believes that Spanish referees leaked to Relevo that the Referees Committee considered that referee Anthony Taylor made a mistake. The Spanish referees are punished by not being appointed to referee any European competition matches for two matchdays... due to a news published in Relevo. The newspaper reported in September that UEFA admitted in the communication shared with their international referees that Cucurella's handball in the Euro quarter-final match was, contrary to what they initially claimed, an error by the referee. UEFA's suspicion that the Spanish Technical Committee of Referees (CTA) was behind the information has led to the Spanish referees being withdrawn from refereeing any matches in European competitions, as reported by Pedro Martín on Cadena Cope's “Tiempo de Juego”. That information, which cleared up the doubts of everyone involved in football, has led Carlos Velasco Carballo to send a warning to all UEFA referees so they know what happens if internal information is shared: they will be punished by missing referee appointments and, as a consequence, without earning a significant amount of money for each European match. Maximum efficiency to guarantee omerta in the refereeing community. Even if it means pointing the finger at the Spanish referees and accusing them of leaking information. According to sources that Relevo has contacted, although the measure is not and will not be official, it is a common practice both in UEFA and in the CTA to shift the responsibility to everyone, in order to control internal information in the face of possible leaks. Thus, the referees are warned and also generate fear among possible informants.
What did UEFA say about Cucurella's handball at the Euro?
The UEFA Referees Committee included Cucurella's action in a review that it periodically carries out of European matches and sends it to the international referees in order to try to unify the criteria when deciding actions. That decision gave rise to much talk and is still causing controversy today. In extra time, Germany claimed a penalty after the Spanish full-back blocked a shot by Jamal Musiala with his outstretched hand. Neither Anthony Taylor nor Stuart Atwell as VAR considered that it was sufficient to award a penalty kick. That incident sparked all kinds of indignation on German soil and UEFA tried not to make a public statement so as not to raise more commotion. It was also a way of protecting the two referees, who were singled out by the public. However, the newspaper was able to learn that in the UEFA communication prior to the current season and after a sudden change of criteria regarding the guidelines in the Euro, they did try to instruct their referees on what should have been called. UEFA considers that the Spanish international referees, whether directly or indirectly, are responsible for the disclosure of these reports and, therefore, has punished the Spanish referees. This information generated a great repercussion in Germany, which attacked the transparency of the organisation for not publicly communicating the error, as occurs in other competitions such as the NBA. According to Pedro Martín's information in “Tiempo de Juego”, the referees have been punished for two matchdays. Indeed, neither in Matchday 3 nor in Matchday 4 of the top continental competition has any Spanish referee officiated any match, something very strange, since it had not happened until now and even more so when, with 18 matches per matchday as there are now, UEFA is in need of top-level referees. Although the information from Relevo was published on 23 September, Sánchez Martínez officiated the Dortmund-Celtic match in the second European matchday, which was played on 1 October, since there was insufficient time for UEFA to change the management of travel and the appointment of referees for the second matchday of the current calendar. That is why the Spanish referees have disappeared from all UEFA competitions from the third matchday. On Matchday 1, Hernández Hernández (Juventus-PSV) and Martínez Munuera (Bayern-Dinamo Zagreb) were also appointed for Champions League matches. In short, two matchdays of absence when it had never happened before, are due to an alleged leak about Cucurella's handball. A priori, this punishment will be broken from the fifth matchday, when Spanish referees could return. It is true, as reflected in a report published by Relevo, that UEFA has gradually lost its trust in the Spanish referees. There were none in the European finals, only Gil Manzano went to the Euro. The 'Negreira Case' or the retirement of great representatives like Mateu Lahoz had an impact. But from there to being absent on two consecutive matchdays, there is a big step.
Source: Relevo
