Barcelona president calls for action against Real Madrid for pressuring referees, fires shots at Bellingham

Speaking in an interview with Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona president Joan Laporta has called on the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) to take action against Real Madrid for allegedly pressuring referees.

Real Madrid TV, the club’s official media channel, has been posting videos criticising match officials and pointing out alleged mistakes made by them.

The situation has reached a whole new level after Real Madrid’s 3-2 win over Almeria this past weekend when as many as three controversial calls went the Merengues’ way at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez has already expressed his concern regarding the matter and the pressure that is being put on match officials by the videos being posted. And now, Laporta, too, has had his say, calling the RFEF to consider taking action.

“Absolutely. That’s what I’ve told the president of the Spanish Federation. The Technical Committee of Referees depends on the Spanish Federation. He told me that bygones are bygones and that they intend to take action,” Laporta said.

“He also told me that the referees do not feel under pressure, he wanted to reassure me in this respect. I have absolute respect for the referees. I have said it and I say it unequivocally.”

“But we are also seeing some situations that are worrying us a lot and if we continue like this, it will be very difficult for us to achieve our objectives. Our coach Xavi has already said it. The players in the squad are doing a very good job, overcoming a series of obstacles,” he added.

“Football is epic, stories of overcoming, being coherent. I think they are working in this sense. But of course, you can’t adulterate the competition anymore with decisions like last Sunday’s at the Bernabéu.”

On being asked if he felt that the competition had been adulterated by the referees’ decisions, Laporta replied: “Well, with these results, yes, because it’s not just this Sunday. We’ve been analysing the issue and there have already been a number of points that our opponents have won by benefiting from refereeing decisions.

The Barcelona president then went on to insist that this is not the first time that such a situation has come up, saying: “However, I also have to say that we are used to this, eh? We always fight against the elements, and we know what they are. But this time they were too obvious and that’s why we’ve made a formal complaint to the Federation.”

Laporta then went on to reveal that the Barcelona players were worried about the situation as well and what went down during the Real Madrid-Almeria clash affected the squad’s morale.

“Also, above all, I’m worried about the morale of our players, because at the end of the Benito Villamarín game, where we played well and we’re proud of how it went because we scored goals, I saw the players worried about the Bernabéu,” he stated.

“And of course, as a club, we have to take action. I am a president who does not hide from facing situations and I think I have to speak out in this case because I see an injustice and when we see this injustice we denounce it and we want those who have the responsibility to solve this issue to take action and make decisions to correct it.”

Pointing out the mistakes made by the referee during the Real Madrid vs Almeria clash, Laporta stated that there were fouls made in the buildup to both the Merengues’ goals.

On top of that, he also accused Real Madrid superstar Jude Bellingham of faking being fouled in the lead-up to Almeria’s disallowed goal.

“Apart from the fact that both Madrid goals were preceded by a foul and the other by a great zamorana, in the goal disallowed against Almeria I saw Bellingham grabbing the shirt of the opposing player,” he said.

“There is a detail that for those of us who have played football I think is illustrative: when Bellingham is on the ground he looks sideways at the referee, as if to say ‘let’s see if I’ve fooled him or not’. And then the play goes on and it’s a legal goal for me.”

These explosive comments made by the Barcelona president are certain to draw a response from Real Madrid and are likely to further damage the relationship between the two clubs.