Efe Madrid
Madrid
Updated Saturday, February 3, 2024-19:57
Former referee Ángel Franco Martínez has died at the age of 86, as announced this Saturday by the Spanish Federation (RFEF). Having the same last name as the dictator Francisco Franco caused the two family names to be used in Spain since the 1970s to mention referees.
"The RFEF wishes to express its deepest condolences to the family and friends of Ángel Franco Martínez, international First Division referee from 1969 to 1986. He officiated two matches in the 1978 World Cup in Argentina. He was also vice president of the Technical Committee of Referees until 2018. Rest in peace," the RFEF published on its social networks.
Franco Martínez will go down in history for
establishing the use of both surnames
in Spain to refer to referees, a peculiarity that draws attention in other countries. "As his surname coincided with that of the dictator Francisco Franco, this gave rise to inappropriate comments at that time," recalled the Spanish sports newspaper Marca in its digital edition this Saturday.
"The newspapers sometimes had headlines with 'Franco is very bad', 'Franco ruined the game', 'Everyone blames Franco'. Publications that bothered the dictator. And not only in the media, the fans also took advantage in the stadiums to
vent their frustrations with the dictator, hiding behind the referee's last name,"
explained the best-selling newspaper in Spain.