Real Madrid President attacks Barcelona after controversial penalty incident | OneFootball

Real Madrid secured victory against Alaves on Sunday night, and with it, likely gave Xabi Alonso at least another week in the job. However the victory did not come without controversy, with Los Blancos irate at the decision not to award a penalty for a challenge on Vinicius Junior in the closing stages.

The Brazilian was seen shouting that ‘the only reason he didn’t give it is because it’s me’, while Xabi Alonso said that he ‘could not understand’ that VAR did not intervene in the incident. On Monday, during his Christmas address, Real Madrid President Florentino Perez pointed the finger at the Negreira case, where Barcelona stand accused of corruption, albeit have not been found guilty.

“Christmas is a time to reflect on the things that concern us. In our case, our biggest concern is the state of refereeing in Spain. It’s a problem that has transcended our borders and damaged the credibility and reputation of our competition. As you know, the extremely serious situation following the ‘Negreira case’ over almost two decades deserves justice. I remind you that Real Madrid is the only club fighting for this,” Cadena SER quoted.

‘The biggest scandal in the history of football’

Image via Diario AS

Perez continued on a lengthy tirade about the case, referring to it as the biggest scandal in the history of the game.

“It is completely incomprehensible that football institutions have abandoned Real Madrid in this fight. How is it possible that in the criminal case we are the only ones fighting for justice? How is it possible that the president of the referees is asking us to move on? How can we forget the biggest scandal in the history of football? We never will. How can the RFEF and LaLiga, who are supposed to safeguard integrity, behave this way? What explains their inaction? I trust that one day we will find out. They have a duty to protect the integrity of the competition and not appear complicit in such a serious case.”

“Without a doubt, the ‘Negreira case’ is the most serious problem facing football today, even internationally. As has been published in recent days, we now know that more than €8m were paid for technical reports on referees – the most expensive reports in the world – and that the coaches, who were the intended recipients of these reports, weren’t even given them. Who can believe that millions of euros were paid for reports that apparently must have been useless? Because the coaches weren’t even given them; they apparently weren’t even aware of their existence.”

Perez targets current VAR official

The referee in charge of the VAR during Real Madrid’s clash against Alaves was Pablo Gonzalez, who was also in charge of the VAR during the Copa del Rey final. Before that final, he stated that referees would not allow themselves to be harassed, and would be taking action, which was interpreted as a threat by Los Blancos.

Image via Alberto Estevez/EFE

“Today we continue to live with the fallout from a case that tarnishes our sport (…) Just yesterday, we were officiated by a VAR referee who threatened to take action against our club the day before a Cup final. Can you imagine this situation in any other country? As you saw yesterday, or in Girona, it seems that the fouls suffered by Vinicius or Rodrygo aren’t penalties. They’re the refereeing novelty of this season.”

“We are certain that we are not the only ones harmed. Furthermore, it is possible that some clubs have been relegated as a result of the ‘Negreira case.’ The integrity and decency of our sport are at stake. The image of our football has been seriously damaged, and therefore justice must be served because only in this way can Spanish football be regenerated.”

“Do not forget that the investigating judge in the case described it as systemic corruption and that in interviews several directors have admitted that these payments were beneficial to their clubs. Beneficial why? Certainly, their coaches have stated that they neither knew about nor needed these reports.”

Valverde and Luis Enrique testimonies

The coaches referenced by Perez are those of Ernesto Valverde and Luis Enrique, who gave evidence in the Negreira case on Friday. Both confirmed that they had not seen the consultancy reports that Barcelona allegedly paid Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, then CTA Vice-President, for. All the same, both went on to confirm that in their view, at no point had they felt benefitted by officials during their time in charge of Barcelona. This is the second time in quick succession Perez has attacked on this front, after using his platform at Real Madrid’s General Assembly to do so.