García Verdura and Barcelona, ​​kings of protest

“TO Garcia Verdura Don’t even come close, don’t protest, don’t say anything,” is the advice a coach should give to his players after seeing this data. The Catalan referee is the La Liga referee with the highest percentage of yellow cards for protest. regarding the amount of your cards. He 26.19% On those occasions when he reached into his pocket for a yellow card, this was in response to a complaint.

The end will be for the game BarcelonaWhat the team with the highest percentage of yellow cards for protest received (12 out of 48, 25%). But this combination cannot be combined, since García Verdura is a referee of the Catalan collegium. Xavi’s players are not the ones who received the most cards for complaining. because Getafe adds 13but those from Bordalas They saw many more yellow cards (78) and their percentage was lower (16.67%).

The differences between the judges are noticeable. Either the criteria for what constitutes a protest worthy of a yellow card are not clear, or there are judges who have a shorter fuse.

Because there are four braids with a percentage of yellow for protesters greater than 20%. That is. Every fifth card they draw is for protest. Are García Verdura (26.19%), Muñiz Ruiz (23.73%), González Fuertes (23.26%) and Soto Grado (20.51%).

Less protests or more lenient judges?

On the other side of the classification, in the relaxation zone, with more patience or greater tolerance for complaints, the canary Polished Santana. Of the 60 yellow cards he received this season, only three were for protesting, that is 5%. They also breathe and count to ten Munuera Montero (4 of 56, 7.14%) and Sanchez Martinez (5 of 65, 7.69%).

Because it takes some meditation and self-control to find such different data between judges who meet the same players. Although there are also differences between players. Or rather, between teams. If we had said before One out of every four yellow cards Barça sees is for protestat the other extreme we find Athletic and Cadizwho for this reason hardly see the cardboard.

Those from Ernesto Valverde This season, out of 47 protest cards, they saw only two. And Cadiz – 3 out of 63. In both cases, less than 5% of the total. Either their players don’t protest, or they don’t show the rage of teammates from other clubs… or they had more lenient referees in their protest.

“We continue to see a crowd of judges.”

Medina CantalejoThe President of the CTA, in his public assessment of the first third of the competition, spoke about the increase in cards for players due to protests: “The protests increased among the players and decreased among the coaches, but we have not found an argument to find out why. The players knew from the beginning of the season that there will be zero tolerance for protests.”

He also defined Medina Cantalejo one of the moments when judges are least respected: “We keep seeing bullying judges We will continue to see this journey as it happens. on site review how the players accompany the referees to the end and that the zone that should be a zone of calm is impossible. The warning has been increased for players and reduced for coaches.”

The future: from yellow cards to ten-minute suspensions

Protests against judges and the maintenance of their authority is one of the most troubling issues around the world. IFAB responsible for changing the rulesat its annual meeting last November, explored the possibility of introducing new temporary sanctions for players protesting referee decisions.

As explained, only the captain will have the right to approach the referee in certain situations. Lucas BrudIFAB chief executive, told The Times: “We are looking at what we can do with the Laws of the Game. “Sin bins” (temporary exclusion) for protests have worked well in grassroots football.

, and some believe they can also be tested at a higher level, with testing in top-level football. Players may not be as worried about getting a yellow card for saying something inappropriate to the referee, but it can make a big difference. if they know what it means to spend an important part of the game off the field. If the captain can get to the referee, he can explain to his teammates what happened. This has worked well in other sports such as rugby and basketball.”