Football club sues referee after missed promotion

A referee in Spain has been sued for five million euros in damages because he is said to have deprived a third division club of promotion to the second division. According to media reports, the Nàstic de Tarragona club filed a lawsuit against the referee. The background is his appearance in a controversial game against Málaga on June 22nd, which ended 2-2. The draw meant that Málaga was promoted instead of Tarragona.

According to the sports newspaper “Marca” and other media, the club is demanding millions in compensation for the economic and “moral” damage caused. Antoine Jordà, lawyer and board member of Nàstic, spoke of a “case of corruption in sport and falsification of an official document” in relation to the match report. There is evidence “that demonstrates predetermined behavior to change the outcome of a game of great economic importance.”

Some media were able to view the court documents. Accordingly, Tarragona accuses the referee Eder Mallo Fernández of intentionally distorting the result of the game and applying the rules “inconsistently” and “in favor of Málaga”. The game was “irregularly extended” “until this team was able to score a goal,” quoted the newspaper “El País”.

According to El País, the lawsuit has not yet been admitted for processing. But it is already a unique occurrence in the history of Spanish football that a club has filed a lawsuit against a referee.

Tarragona also presented the court with a report from a detective agency, according to which agreements were made at a dinner before the game. In addition, the referee is said to have announced the expulsion of a Tarragona player in advance.

In the game, the Catalans actually had to play outnumbered from the 63rd minute onwards. In the 122nd minute of extra time, Málaga made it 2-2 and secured promotion to the second division. Extensions of around five minutes are common in football, and in exceptional cases even ten. But more than half an hour is actually unusual.

“There are things that are unacceptable: this man cannot go unpunished, even though we know that we will not get promotion back and that he will most likely declare himself bankrupt,” Jordà said at a press conference about his club’s actions.