Referees finally got back up to speed this week with over 60 yellow cards and three reds, par for the course last season but so far way above the weekly average for the first three matches. New boy Moreno Delgado takes the white stick award this week for his performance in the game between Atlético and Recreativo. He awarded a penalty to each side which both managers thought were unfair (but should have sent off Burgos if he he thought the first was a foul), missed a clear hand ball by Fernando Torres in the play leading up to Atlético's goal, and sent off Otero for a crunching tackle but then letting off José Marí for one equally as bad in the second half (which he made up for later on when he sent off Recreativo's Galán). Things can only get better for the young man.

Youth and inexperience was not an excuse that veteran López Nieto could use for his mistakes in the game between Athletic Bilbao and Mallorca. He could blame his linesman though for not seeing that Novo had run the ball out of play before turning it back in for Robles to score, and then later on ruling out Pandiani's goal for offside when he probably wasn't. If the man was from Egypt, Trinidad or Uganda (to name but three countries at random) he would have been hung, drawn and quartered by the press. Finally Ramírez Domínguez achieved what very few referees have done, elicit criticisms from Real Madrid that the referees are ganging up against them when he sent off Michel Salgado, turned down a penalty appeal from Madrid and then awarded one against them for what looked like a non existent foul. Franco must be turning in his grave! (01.10.02)