Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea became the first referee to publicly explain major controversial decisions during a La Liga match after Saturday’s meeting between Levante and Atletico Madrid at Ciutat de Valencia.
Speaking through Movistar, the referee outlined why two Atletico Madrid goals were disallowed, why Levante manager Luis Castro was booked and why a member of the home side’s equipment staff was sent off.
The appearance formed part of a joint initiative involving La Liga, the Royal Spanish Football Federation and the referees’ union. Under the scheme, referees are allowed to explain their decisions in the most contentious incidents during two matches on the day.
De Burgos began by expressing solidarity with the victims of the incident in Toledo and their families before addressing Atletico Madrid’s first disallowed goal.
The referee said the on-field officials had initially allowed play to continue, but a review by the video assistant referee (VAR) showed that an offside offence had occurred.
“There was an offside position that we allowed to continue on the pitch. From the VAR room, they told us that the system indicated offside, and we simply had to correct the decision and change the goal to offside,” said De Burgos.
Second goal also ruled out
The referee said the decision to disallow Atletico Madrid’s second goal had been made on the pitch before being checked and confirmed by VAR.
“In the second incident, we made the decision on the pitch to disallow the goal, and the system confirmed that we were right,” he said.
De Burgos also explained the disciplinary action taken during the match. Luis Castro received a yellow card after going beyond the accepted limits in his comments, while a Levante equipment official was dismissed following repeated complaints about his conduct.
“We received several complaints, the last of them concerning inappropriate behaviour, and we made the decision to send him off in accordance with the regulations,” said the referee.
The official also addressed an incident involving Levante player Ivan Romero, who complained that he had been struck by an elbow. De Burgos said the contact had occurred behind the player’s back and was reviewed by VAR.
After examining the footage, the officials judged the contact to be a normal part of the game and decided that no offence requiring disciplinary action had taken place.
The fixture listings accompanying the report included Atletico Madrid’s Champions League match against Bayern Munich on 03 November 2026 and CD Tarancon’s Copa del Rey fixture on 05 November 2026. Levante was also listed.