Radical change in LaLiga! A former coach will decide the referees of each day

The 2025/26 season is coming with changes in LaLiga. The Competition Arbitration Committee (CACP) defined the three new members who will have the task of designating the referees in each match of the tournament.

Fran Soto Balirac, Gregorio Manzano Ballesteros and Fernando Teixeira Vitienes are the chosen ones by the organizers of Spanish football. In an informative note, LaLiga and the RFEF made the official announcement. 

The representative of the RFEF will be Soto Balirac, who will serve as president of the CACP and will be the highest responsible for the Technical Committee of Referees (CTA). The previous designation committee was formed by Luis Medina Cantalejo, Arturo Daudén Ibáñez and Evaristo Puente Leira.

LaLiga includes for the first time a coach as part of the Arbitration Committee

The great surprise, without a doubt, is the presence of Gregorio Manzano, former coach, who has a career of more than 400 matches as a national and international coach.

In Spain, he won the Copa del Rey of 02/03 with Real Mallorca. In addition to having spells at Atlético de Madrid and Sevilla. He also had a stage in China with Shanghai Shenhua, Beijing Guoan and Guizhou FC.

Since 2018 he has moved away from the benches and, now, at 69 years old, Manzano will assume the responsibility of helping to designate the judges of each day of Liga.

The authority chosen in a consensual manner by both entities is completed by the former referee Fernando Teixeira Vitienes, with more than 300 matches in LaLiga. He was international since 2009 and retired in 2015. Barça won 17 games, drew 13 and lost 4 with the Cantabrian as main judge.

LaLiga eliminates appeals and financial penalties for arbitration errors

Another of the changes approved by LaLiga and the RFEF was the elimination of fines for referees for arbitration errors, despite the fact that the proposal was on the table with the previous Professional Competition Arbitration Committee (CACP), headed by Luis Medina Cantalejo.

Similarly, there will be no arbitration challenges either. This means that no team will be able to oppose a referee whistling them because they understand that he has harmed them in previous games. Nor will the referees be obliged to reside in Madrid, a topic that was touched on at the negotiating table between LaLiga and the Federation.