The refereeing fiasco in the Real Madrid – Almeria contest has gripped Spanish football, with many pointing out the inconsistencies of the referees.
There were at least three big moments in that game, where the referees and the VAR should have done a far better job.
The major controversy revolved around Vinicius Junior’s goal in the second half. The Brazilian was awarded a goal even though it appeared that he had clearly handled the ball.
Disappointed with the referees and the VAR, Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez was quick to point out the inconsistent treatment of referees, suggesting that it will be incredibly difficult to win La Liga with this kind of one-sided treatment.
Real Madrid issues response to Xavi
Shortly after Xavi’s comments about the refereeing in La Liga, Real Madrid have now attacked both Xavi and Barcelona.
“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,” Real Madrid said (h/t Goal).
This statement was posted through Real Madrid TV, the club’s official in-house media channel, which has been in focus in Spain this season for posting several videos of La Liga referees making bad decisions.
Real Madrid did not stop there. The club highlighted that they have remained silent on the Negreira case, adding, “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,” the club further added.
Safe to say, this refereeing fiasco in the Real Madrid – Almeria game is sure to further raise animosity between Real Madrid and Barcelona.
It now remains to be seen whether or not Xavi or Barcelona issue a response to Real Madrid, in light of their recent statement.
