Madrid: The days of a healthy rivalry between Barcelona and Real Madrid are over. What used to be a cordial relationship between the Spanish powerhouses has turned ugly following the latest scandal involving Barcelona over payments to a former refereeing official.
Neither club are holding back, and there is no hiding the relationship has been strained. “It’s damaged,” Barcelona president Joan Laporta said. “We have had an harmonious institutional relationship with all clubs, including Madrid. The Clasico is the greatest spectacle in the world and there is always an intense rivalry. But to me, the institutional relationship has been harmed because of them,” Laporta added.
The clubs have been trading direct attacks ever since it became public that Barcelona had paid more than 7 million euros ($7.6 million) over several years for refereeing reports produced by the company of a former vice-president of the country’s refereeing committee.
Barcelona were formally accused by prosecutors of alleged corruption in sports, fraudulent management and falsification of mercantile documentation. Madrid were among the clubs that decided to take part in the legal proceedings. The team expressed their ‘utmost concern regarding the gravity of the facts’ and said they were an ‘affected party’ in the matter.
Barcelona have denied it tried to influence referees with its payments. Laporta said Tuesday in his first news conference to explain the club’s actions that it was ‘an unprecedented exercise in cynicism’ for Madrid to say it was harmed by referees during Barcelona’s most successful era.
“Everyone knows that Real Madrid are a club historically favoured by refereeing decisions, and continues to be now,” Laporta said. “It’s a club that have been known for being the club of the regime, because of its proximity to those in power politically, economically and in sports.”
Laporta claimed that for seven decades the top refereeing officials in the country were linked to Madrid. “For 70 years, those in charge of making sure that there was justice on the field were either former members or players or officials from Madrid,” he said in one of the harshest attacks yet by a Barcelona official.
Madrid didn’t stay quiet. It published a video on its television channel and social media accounts refuting Laporta’s claims.
Using images from Laporta’s news conference and past footage of events related to Barcelona’s history, Real Madrid linked a video to former dictator Gen Francisco Franco, including during the inauguration of Camp Nou Stadium. The video of more than four minutes ended with the question, “What was the team of the regime?”
Barcelona and Madrid over the years have had a healthy relationship and an unspoken pact of no aggression between the clubs, including when it comes to recruiting players in youth squads or in issues related to the Spanish soccer federation and the Spanish league. They have been partners in the attempt to create the Super League, and were still working together to try to get the project launched.
On the field, the teams faced each other five times this season, with three victories by Barcelona and two by Madrid, including a 4-0 rout of the Catalan club at Camp Nou in the second leg of the Copa del Rey semifinals.
Barcelona beat Madrid at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in the first leg of the Copa del Rey, and also in the Spanish Super Cup final in Saudi Arabia. It also won in the final Spanish league game between the clubs in a result that allowed the Catalan club to take a big step toward winning the title. It has an 11-point lead over Madrid with nine games remaining.
