Once again some poor refereeing decisions could be instrumental in the outcome of the league. If Mallorca were helped last week they certainly were not this, with Carmona Méndez leaving them with ten men for the last hour against Betis after sending off goalkeeper Leo Franco for something he didn't do (see villains section for more details). Téllez Sánchez may have left Deportivo without central defenders for their next match after red carding Naybet, but more importantly could have handed over the league to Valencia after decimating their next opponents Málaga with yellow cards.

Losantos Omar could have condemned Zaragoza to the second division for the first time in 24 years when he disallowed a late equaliser from Milosevic for an offside which wasn't. That also gave Celta a win which could be crucial in their push for a Champions League spot, and may as a result affect the chances of Barcelona or even Betis of qualifying for that competition next year. Megia Dávila came close to pushing Osasuna closer to the drop zone when he disallowed an early Cruchaga goal and then awarded a penalty to Las Palmas for a supposed foul by the same player on Tevenet. Justice was done however when Osasuna scored a winner near the end. (29.04.02)