There are not many instances when people associated with FC Barcelona and Real Madrid agree with each other. The two clubs share one of the most intense rivalries in world football, and this rivalry is not limited only to football but also spreads out to the political, cultural, and social spheres.
Only recently, antagonism between the two clubs was fuelled further when the Barcelona President, Joan Laporta, was charged with bribery in the Negreira case. Laporta responded to this charge with a tirade in which he highlighted “sociological Madridismo” as the actual root for his perceived injustices towards himself and the club.
Xavi agrees with Ancelotti
However, as Mundo Deportivo noted, Xavi did not take such a confrontational approach in his press conference before the match against Shakhtar Donetsk. Xavi even went on to agree with his Real Madrid counterpart, Carlo Ancelotti, on the phenomenon of referee decisions and a manager’s space to criticize such decisions.
Carlo Ancelotti’s team saw two of their goals ruled out in their last match against Sevilla, but Ancelotti said that the referee had made all the correct decisions after the match. However, in another media appearance later, he claimed that he was being sarcastic and did not have the space to criticize the referees as it could result in sanctions.
Responding to this episode, Xavi agreed with Ancelotti to the extent that such criticism can lead to sanctions but believed there was still some room for managers to comment on controversial decisions:
“Ancelotti is right that if we talk about the referees, we can receive sanctions. Therefore, we need to be careful with our choice of words. What I don’t believe in is pressuring them, but I do think that discussing specific plays, like whether something is a penalty or not, is possible.”
Complaining does not achieve anything
However, Xavi went on to say that even if one escaped sanction after criticizing referees, making complaints does not actually achieve anything:
“Complaints don’t lead anywhere, but they come out naturally sometimes. Like we did on the day of Getafe or in Granada, with the penalty or the disallowed goal… we are human, and we get upset. But complaining doesn’t get you anywhere.”
Xavi was also open to giving the referees some room for errors and did not want to put any extra pressure on them:
“I’ve already said it, my opinion hasn’t changed. I don’t like to influence the referees. They make mistakes, but we should help them. I have a lot of faith in their honesty, and we shouldn’t pressurize them.”
Thus, Barcelona head coach took a diplomatic approach in this press conference and tried not to take the temperature unnecessarily higher with El Clasico on the horizon.
