While the animosity between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid never subsides, recent events have sparked displeasure at Barcelona and led to murmurs of Real Madrid being favored by the sporting and regulatory bodies in Spain.
In his press conference prior to the match against Athletic Club, Xavi commented on some of these issues.
Xavi on Laporta accusation, social madridismo
The Barcelona President, Joan Laporta, was recently accused of bribery, and reacting to this, Laporta highlighted the “sociological Madridismo” in Spanish institutions that led to such accusations against the Catalan club.
As SPORT has reported, Xavi gave his unconditional support to Laporta, and believed that such preference for Madrid existed by giving some historical examples in this presser:
“Of course (it exists), it’s just a matter of looking at the archives: the Villarato, the doping… with the president (Joan Laporta) completely in agreement, as always. He is a very positive and brave person. He is the leader of this whole project.”
Further commenting on the social Madridismo, Xavi said:
“I’ve already said it, these are situations to destabilize a bit. (Now) there’s a lot of talk about non-football issues. I prefer people to talk about football. In my time as a footballer, the most wonderful period of the club, there were talks of doping when we were doing very well. And the ‘Villarato’ was invented by a Madrid club, Real Madrid.”
Nacho’s ban reduction
Another event that has led to displeasure at Barcelona and which was discussed by Xavi was that of Nacho Fernandez. The Real Madrid player was given a red card in the game against Osasuna, which led to a three-game ban for him and would have led him to miss the match against Barcelona.
However, RFEF reduced Nacho’s ban to two games, allowing him to play against Barcelona. On this topic, Xavi said:
“Is it ‘sociological Madridismo’ (the decision)? That’s a question for the committee, but it surprises me. We received a suspension for Robert (Lewandowski), and they didn’t reduce it for a gesture; as an athlete, I’m surprised, considering the severity of the tackle.”
With such a build-up in the media, the upcoming El Clasico is definitely going to be a feisty affair. Real Madrid currently have the edge over Barcelona as a number of important Barcelona players are out with injuries, but anything can happen on the pitch.
