The rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona is set to find its place in the courtroom as well. Los Blancos have decided to appear before the court in a refereeing corruption case involving Barcelona.
The Spanish prosecutors have charged the Catalans with corruption charges. It has been alleged that Spain’s referees’ committee has received money through one of the companies owned by a Barca Vice President.
It has been further alleged that a payment of more than 7.3 million euros ($7.77 million) has been done to Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira. The Spaniard from 1994 to 2018 was a former referee and former Vice President of the refereeing committee of the Spanish football federation between 1994 and 2018.
Former Barca Presidents Josep Maria Bartomeu and Sandro Rosell have been charged with corruption charges. While there is no immediate danger to Barca’s season but they might face sanctions in the future.
Real Madrid is the injured party
The Spanish giants recently released a statement regarding the whole issue. In the said statement it has said that they have full confidence in the process of justice. However, they intend to defend their legitimate rights as well. Thus they will be appearing before a court in this matter as well.
The statement read as “Real Madrid expresses its deep concern about the seriousness of the matter and reiterates its full confidence in the action of justice and has agreed that, in defense of its legitimate interests, it will appear in the proceedings as soon as the judge opens them to the injured parties“
Prima facie it is unclear what Los Blancos will be praying for before the court. It is also to be seen whether Real Madrid are able to convince the Spanish courts that they have a locus standi or not. If the allegations are true then indeed they have suffered, however, the question of will other clubs be able to take advantage of the same or not.
It is likely that the Spanish courts could open a pandora box if they allow, Real Madrid to be an injured party to the case. This is because other Spanish teams such as Atletico Madrid, Valencia, Sevilla, etc. on similar grounds could come before Spanish courts.
Real Madrid vs Barcelona rivalry this season
Last season it was Real Madrid who swept aside La Liga and the Champions League. However, this season they find themselves nine points behind Barca in La Liga. Not only this Barca also inflicted a 1-0 defeat in the first leg of the Copa Del Rey game.
It could get further worse for Los Blancos very soon. The second leg of the Copa Del Rey tie is around the corner. Also, there is an El Clasico game between the two in La Liga as well.
A defeat in both of these games will be disastrous for Real Madrid. They will only have the Champions League to rescue their season. In the Champions League, they have beaten Liverpool 2-5 in the first leg. However, there are chances that the Reds might spirit a comeback.
Barca also holds another advantage in the La Liga race. They have been knocked out of the Europa League by Manchester United. Now, they have a good one week of rest between La Liga games. But for Los Blancos games are coming thick and fast.
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