Atletico Chief Cerezo Urges Real Madrid and LaLiga to End Refereeing War

Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo has urged Real Madrid and LaLiga to end their row over refereeing, saying football bosses should be calming things down and not stoking a fight.

Speaking in Germany ahead of Atletico's Champions League game against Stuttgart, Cerezo said the current mood is bad for the sport. "In football, in general, there does not have to be war, and even less so between the executives," he said, as quoted by COPE. 

He admitted that no club is happy with every decision. "We all complain about everything, don't we? We've complained too, and we'll probably continue to complain," he added.

He also backed the referees, saying they will make mistakes when they miss things in the moment. "We think that we have to be with them, because referees make mistakes when they don't see it," Cerezo said.

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He was asked about the Arda Guler incident in Real Madrid's game against Villarreal. Cerezo said he saw it clearly but the referee may not have. "I saw it clearly, but maybe the referee didn't see it. I am convinced that if he sees it, he whistles for it. If he doesn't see it, well, I imagine that's why he didn't whistle for it."

Cerezo then turned to his own club and praised manager Diego Simeone, who has won almost everything at Atletico. 

The Champions League is the one big prize still missing. "Diego is a coach who has demonstrated everything. With us he has achieved everything and, practically, what we have left is to get the Champions League," he said.

He called the current squad a "great team" and said a good result away from home is needed to keep their European hopes alive. He ended on an upbeat note. "We are going to finish well and we are going to achieve what we want, which are titles and triumphs."