23 January 2024 , 11:26
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Real Madrid have used their TV channel to fire back at Barcelona boss Xavi as the row over Spanish refereeing escalated.
Los Blancos benefitted from several controversial decisions in their win over Almeria, with La Liga's bottom club insisting the game was 'stolen' from them. Barca boss Xavi hit out at his side's bitter rivals after that match.
The Spain legend insisted it would be 'difficult' for a different side to win the title, as he claimed Madrid were being favoured by referees. He highlighted several incidents as evidence for his view.
“Everyone has seen it, it is going to be very difficult to win this League, I said it in Getafe, there were things that did not fit me. Let’s continue working, we continue in the fight, there are 18 games left," he said.
"Today we start the second round in the best way possible, there are things that we do not control, everyone has seen it today. There have been many incidents. I remember the Getafe penalty, the incident with Raphinha in Vallecas and the goal in Granada by Joao Felix. We could have six more points. These are not excuses, they are realities.”
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But those comments have drawn a strong response from Madrid, with Los Blancos pointing to the Negreira scandal. Barca have been found to have paid José María Enríquez Negreira millions of pounds while he was vice president of Spain's Technical Committee of Referees (CTA).
The Catalan giants claim that they hired Negreira as an "external consultant" who provided the club reports "related to professional refereeing". Negreira denies being bribed to favour Barca in refereeing decisions.
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Madrid benefitted from several controversial decisions by referee Francisco Jose Hernandez in their win over Almeria (Florencia Tan Jun/Getty Images)Those denials have not stopped Madrid from using the affair to launch an extraordinary attack on Xavi though. The Real Madrid TV channel issued a statement which insisted the 600 games Xavi played for Barca are all tainted.
“Over the course of 20 years, Barcelona have been paying the Vice President of the Referees Committee, more than 600 matches that Xavi played as a Barcelona player. Those 600 matches are all suspicious,” the statement read.
Real TV also highlighted that they have remained silent on the Negreira case. They added: “Both Real Madrid and Real Madrid TV have been very respectful at all times with the Negreira case.
“We are not saying that the club was accused of that and during the period in which Xavi was a Barcelona player. Real Madrid respected the case, but the judge, in his own words, considered it stupid that Barcelona paid this much for nothing."
Madrid concluded by stating that Xavi's comments are "a smokescreen for what happened in the final of the Spanish Super Cup, where Real Madrid gave Barça, and Ancelotti, a football review of Xavi.
"We only reflect what happens every week, the VAR had to intervene in a disastrous arbitration, it is the test of cotton."