LaLiga has recently witnessed widespread controversy over refereeing
No Spanish referee will take charge of a single match as the on-field official across the three European competitions this week: the Champions League, the Europa League and the Europa Conference League.
That's 54 matches in this round. Spain's only involvement comes through video technology, with Cesar Soto Grado working as video assistant referee for Feyenoord against Como, assisted by Carlos del Cerro Grande. Lithuania's Donatas Rumsas takes the whistle, according to the Spanish newspaper "OK Diario".
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Spain have three referees in UEFA's elite category, all qualified for Champions League duty: Jesus Gil Manzano, Jose Maria Sanchez Martinez and Alejandro Hernandez Hernandez. Not one of them features in the competition's 18 matches this week.
Javier Alberola Rojas misses out too. He sits in UEFA's first category, which allows him to officiate Europa League and Conference League matches.
"OK Diario" tied the absence to "the decline in the standard of refereeing in Spain", pointing to the recent storm in LaLiga, including the Madrid derby and the sending-off of Vinicius Junior against Villarreal, as the trigger. UEFA have said nothing on the matter.
It has happened before. In January 2026, UEFA named no Spanish referee for the penultimate round of the league phase in either the Champions League or the Europa League.
UEFA then reversed course for the final round, handing Gil Manzano, Sanchez Martinez and Hernandez Hernandez three matches: Eintracht Frankfurt against Tottenham, Monaco against Juventus, and Manchester City against Galatasaray, according to the Spanish federation's official website.