Revolution in La Liga: referees to speak publicly after matches to explain decisions

La Liga referees will now give post-match interviews to broadcasters to explain their decisions, starting with Athletic Bilbao v Real Sociedad on Sunday.

Spanish football's refereeing system is undergoing a historic shift. La Liga and the Spanish refereeing committee have agreed that referees will conduct post-match interviews with broadcasters immediately after matches to explain their key decisions.

The initiative begins this weekend with the Basque derby between Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad on Sunday at 21:00. Both rights holders—DAZN and Movistar+—will each conduct one interview with a referee, meaning two matches will feature the new format. The scheme will then be rolled out gradually to assess how it works and determine whether to expand it to more fixtures.

The agreement involves the referees' union AESAF, La Liga, and the Spanish Football Federation. La Liga has allocated €500,000 to compensate referees for their participation in the broadcasters' audiovisual content. Spanish referees have already been conducting pre-match interviews since the start of the season.