Referees were in a good mood this weekend, and didn't show one single red card between them. One or two did still manage to upset a few people though, in particular Turienzo Alvarez, who allowed Athletic Bilbao's goal to stand against Atlético Madrid even though Del Horno was well offside, and then turned down a late penalty appeal by Salva. Pino Zamorano wasn't too popular at Valencia either, where he disallowed two goals by the home side against Numancia.

Pérez Burrull was also in the news as, for the first time in Spain, he mentioned racist chants by Albacete fans against Barcelona's Samuel Eto'o in his report on the match between the two sides, saying that he had asked the team delegates to make an announcement over the loud speakers for the insulting noises to stop. Albacete rather grouchily complained about the remarks and the subsequent 600 euro fine (peanuts, but at least a start), saying that this was limited to a small group of thugs who were identified and thrown out of the ground, but at last action has started to be taken by the authorities to stamp out what is becoming a disturbing trend at grounds around the country.

Meanwhile the sporting disciplinary body has instructed the Spanish Football Federation to open an investigation into remarks made by Luis Aragonés prior to Spain's match with England, and to reprimand him accordingly. Aragonés feels he is being made a scapegoat by the authorities and says he has apologised to Thierry Henry for his comments, which were made in private and caught by long range microphones in a training session. The manager is being given support by several black players who have worked under him in the past and say claims that he is a racist are absurd, in particular Eto'o himself who said he was a father figure to him when they were both at Mallorca. But Aragonés is already close to retirement age, and says that if the matter goes any further he will probably just give up and resign. (14.12.04)