Translated article: https://www.eldesmarque.com/futbol/liga-1a-division/20260819/jose-bordalas-responde-comunicado-aesaf-sindicato-arbitros_18_019980656.html The first matchday of the 2026/27 LALIGA season hasn't even finished, and there have been several controversial refereeing decisions. One of them was the sending-off of Kiko Femenía in the match against Alavés. After the game, José Bordalás didn't hesitate to complain about the refereeing and that particular incident, claiming that they aren't "treated the same way." The Spanish Association of Football Referees (AESAF) responded sharply to this complaint with a statement accusing the coach of "blaming the refereeing establishment" for his team's result. Well, less than a day has passed, and the coach hasn't hesitated to respond to that AESAF statement in Getafe's pre-match press conference ahead of their Conference League qualifier against Partizan. Bordalás downplayed the statement from a union that, in his words, was created by "four or five friends." "The truth is, it's a union created by four or five friends, I don't give it much importance. I prefer to stick with the words of Francisco Soto, president of the Referees Committee, who said that the images didn't clearly show it was a red card," the Getafe coach responded sharply. "We've always been told that when something isn't clear, it's not corrected. However, the yellow card was overturned." He also specifically commented on the statement directed at him and believes it's because it's him; they wouldn't have issued such a statement about another coach. "It's not fair to have such a strong statement singling me out like that. But I don't give it much importance. Tomorrow I could form a union with several coaches and start pointing fingers at others too," he stated. "I think there's nothing wrong with acknowledging mistakes. As a coach, I acknowledge my mistakes, the players do too, and referees could also acknowledge their mistakes—it's not a big deal." He concluded his remarks by asking for respect. "I respect everyone, and I ask for respect in return." The Getafe player was shown a red card in the 42nd minute of the match after a VAR review of a play for which he initially received a yellow card from referee Orellana Cid. The referee listened to his colleagues in the VAR room and ultimately sent off the Getafe defender, a decision that significantly impacted a match the Azulones ended up losing 3-0.   submitted by   /u/AniStormS [link]   [comments]