Barcelona president Joan Laporta describes LaLiga as “corrupted” after Real Madrid VAR controversy

Barcelona president Joan Laporta has described LaLiga as having been “corrupted” in the aftermath of the VAR controversy during Real Madrid’s dramatic victory over Almería on Sunday.

In an interview given to Catalan newspaper Mundo Deportivo on Tuesday, Laporta claims to have made a formal complaint to the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) related to the perceived pressure put on referees by Real Madrid’s in-house television channel, Real Madrid TV. The Barça chief demands the RFEF take action.

What did Laporta say Madrid, referees and VAR?

“I have told the president of the Spanish Federation. The Technical Committee of Referees depends on the Spanish Federation. He told me that what’s done is done and they plan to take action on the matter. He also told me the referees don’t feel pressured, he wanted to reassure me about that. I have complete respect for referees. I’ve said it and I really mean that. But we are also seeing some incidents that are very worrying and if we continue like this, it will be very difficult for us to achieve our goals [...] But of course, the competition cannot be corrupted more by decisions like those made at the Bernabéu last Sunday,” said Laporta.

“It’s not just Sunday,” he continued. “We have been analysing what happened and there are already a number of points that our rivals have won by benefiting from referee decisions. We have always fought against the elements, we know what they are. But this time they were just too obvious and that’s why we have formally complained to the Federation.

“Also, I am especially worried about our players’ morale, because at the end of the game at the Benito Villamarín (Barça defeated Real Betis 4-2 later on Sunday), in which we played well and were proud of scoring plenty of goals, I could see the players were worried about what happened at the Bernabéu,” the Barcelona president added.

Barça president: “Bellingham tricked the referee”

Finally, Laporta offered his analysis on the three decisions which VAR overturned in Madrid’s favour as they went on to clinch a last-minute win: “Other than there being a foul and then a clear handball on Madrid’s first two goals, Bellingham pulled the Almería player’s shirt in the move before Almería had their goal disallowed. Those of us who have played soccer will also have noticed that when Bellingham is on the ground, he has a look at the referee as if to say, ‘let’s see if I’ve tricked him or not’. Then the move continues and I think the goal should have stood.”

Despite being united when it comes to the European Super League, the aggressive tone of Laporta’s criticism suggests Barcelona and Real Madrid remain at odds with one another when it comes to other matters, both on and off the field. A war has begun, with Barça’s first battle coming against Real Madrid TV.

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