FC Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez has accused Real Madrid of trying to ‘condition’ referees.
FC Barcelona head coach Xavi Hernandez has accused his club’s bitter rivals Real Madrid of trying to “condition” referees just a few days out from El Clasico.
Along with forward Ferran Torres, Xavi held a pre-match press conference on Tuesday afternoon in Catalonia ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League meeting with Shakhtar Donetsk at the Montjuic Stadium.
With a La Liga installment of the world’s biggest derby set to be played on Saturday, however, the manager naturally received questions about Barca’s eternal rivals.
Xavi was specifically asked to give his thoughts on a video that appeared on Real Madrid’s official channel and attacked the referee that was set to officiate their meeting with Sevilla 48 hours later.
Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea then oversaw a 1-1 draw which paved the way for Barca to cut Madrid’s league lead to just one point through their 1-0 win over Athletic Club on Sunday night.
“My opinion hasn’t changed,” Xavi said. “I don’t like the fact that the refereeing establishment is conditioned. The referees do a very difficult job and I think we have to leave them alone.
“They make mistakes, sometimes in [our] favor and sometimes against [us], but we must respect them and help them.
“It’s difficult because there’s tension, but we have to help them to be as honest as possible. I, personally, trust his [the referee’s] honesty. We have to leave them alone.
“No, I don’t like to try to condition them,” finished Xavi, doubling down.
This aside, Xavi did agree with his Madrid opposite number Carlo Ancelotti who was furious with De Burgos Bengoetxea following the Sevilla stalemate but stated that he would refrain from commenting out of a fear of being sanctioned.
“We have to watch our vocabulary against the referees, this is a reality,” said Xavi, who was red-carded at Getafe for dissent at the start of the season.
“From there, I think there is too much talk and too much conditioning. We can talk about whether he made a mistake, whether it’s a penalty or not, this is football. The more natural we are, the better. That’s why I think referees should explain their decisions,” Xavi concluded.