Believe it or not, but I also think referees are more biased since the new edition of the CL. Before this edition, one of the reasons why various teams won the competition was that referees where 'randomly' biased and unfair. You could see an English ref (for instance) waving on on a very hard challenges and that changes the complexion of a game to the point where Real M might not have advantage over a very average technically, but bullish physically team.
Nowdays, with the increase of 'star' power, certain players are considered untouchable and every little foul is given, special treatment is always afforded to them and so forth. I think that is why people expect us to 'match' Real M 'star power'. Since most call quality the function of what a player does on the pitch and the titles that he wins - having a quality 'bias' in the head of the referee is more than just wrong...