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Rubén Uría: "Referees are terrified of Real Madrid"
And to UEFA, he argues, Atlético are a lesser side compared with Madrid, Barça, the English clubs and PSG
Rubén Uría sets out his theory on referees' fear of the big clubs
Rubén Uría explains the gap in penalties with a theory: referees fear making mistakes against the big clubs because they risk being taken off matches and losing out on pay. And in Europe, he says, UEFA has no interest in Atlético.
Prompted by an Atleti Stats figure on penalties awarded to Madrid, Barcelona and Atlético over the last five years, Rubén Uría offers his interpretation, while admitting it will sting: referees are terrified of Real Madrid.
His argument: referees know that getting it wrong against heavyweight clubs could see them stop being given matches and, therefore, stop getting paid. The heaviest of all is Madrid; one or two rungs below are Barcelona — Alberto Carballo asks for them to be lumped in with Madrid — and further down come Atlético, followed by Betis or Athletic Club. Héctor Ruiz puts it as referees looking for the least media noise when they make mistakes.
Uría takes the idea to Europe: although Pepe Brasín argued the opposite, he insists that UEFA has no interest in Atlético, that it sees them as a lesser side, and that the clubs UEFA referees fear are Madrid, Barcelona, the English sides and, at most, PSG.