Uproar over referee: Club requests Spanish league stop

The referee does not recognize an offside position, nor does the video assistant correct the goal decision.

Uproar over referee: Club requests Spanish league stop

The referee does not recognize an offside position, nor does the video assistant correct the goal decision. The Spanish first division football club FC Cadiz therefore does not win against the bottom of the table. And is so outraged that the club now wants to paralyze the entire league game.

The Spanish first division football club FC Cadiz has applied for the temporary suspension of the championship after a referee error. As the Andalusians, who are threatened with relegation, announced, the club submitted a corresponding application to the International Court of Arbitration for Sport CAS. According to this, the game in La Liga should be suspended until the appeal has been decided.

Cadiz are correcting a mistake made by referee Carlos del Cerro Grande, who overlooked an offside position in the match against bottom side FC Elche (1-1) on 16 January before Ezequiel Ponce (81') equalized for the visitors. Even the video assistant did not notice the error.

In the statement on the website, Cadiz spoke of a "serious" offense by the referee. A decision by the CAS is necessary to protect the "integrity of competition". It is also important to "ensure the equality of the participating clubs". Cadiz wants the game from matchday 17 to be repeated from the moment the wrong decision was made.

Even after the game in Spain in January there were calls for better video technology, such as the semi-automatic offside detection, as used at the World Cup in Qatar, should help. The objection to the CAS is justified by the club's legal department with examples from the past. For example, games between Norway and England as well as Uzbekistan and Bahrain were partially repeated "to avoid the damage that the incorrect refereeing decisions would cause to the teams involved".

Cadiz had already applied to the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) for the result to be annulled and for the last nine minutes of the game to be played again. However, since the RFEF did not feel responsible, no action was taken. Cadiz therefore went before the CAS with the same claim. The club are currently 16th after 23 matches and two points clear of the relegation zone. Elche is bottom of the table with only nine points.