The realm of Spanish football is always full of drama surrounding Barcelona and Real Madrid. Both the El Clasico rivals are no strangers to these controversies and have often even thrived based on them. Even now, both Barcelona and Real Madrid continue to lock horns even outside the field.
The recent clash between Los Blancos and their city rivals, Atletico Madrid, has stirred up a new controversy. Following the 1-1 draw, one in which Los Merengues dropped some crucial points, their official channel called ‘Real Madrid TV’ decided to put pressure on the referee officiating the game as they questioned his decisions.
Suggesting that there were at least three ‘penalties’ that should have gone the way of the Whites, they continue to put pressure even on the referees yet to manage upcoming games for them. Sánchez Martinez, the man in charge of the Madrid derby as the referee, was attacked directly by their channel as well.
However, it is rather ironic that throughout this rant of theirs, Real Madrid TV did not even bring up once the disallowed goal of Atletico Madrid that has caused controversy.
On the other hand, they did go on to target Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez for his comments about La Liga being ‘adulterated’ or compromised, as highlighted by SPORT.
The response from Real Madrid TV was as follows, attacking the Barcelona coach and his career as a whole: “Let us compete? It must be remembered that Xavi’s playing career is under suspicion because his matches are being investigated by the Prosecutor’s Office and a judge. Only fair lessons, as his entire career is under suspicion.”
Moreover, they tried to reflect the criticism on them by instead throwing it once again towards the way of Barcelona:
“Adulterated league? One must laugh. Fortunately, Real Madrid TV exists to demonstrate things with evidence. If we manipulate, let someone go to court and report it. Here, we exercise transparency about what is happening.”
“We are tired of witnessing how images, where Real Madrid was disadvantaged, disappeared from the narrative, not appearing on national television.”
“It’s striking how there is always an attempt to harm Madrid: on Saturday, we saw legal actions against Girona that certain platforms used to criticize Madrid, but when money is thrown against Barcelona, it’s not published.”
La Liga is still alive for those believing in mathematical possibilities, and Real Madrid’s latest dropped points help that narrative. For Barcelona, only two competitions remain to fight for, the Spanish League and the UEFA Champions League. With this being Xavi’s final season at the club, the team would do well to ensure that it ends on a high.
