EKO HOT BLOG reports that Barcelona president Joan Laporta stormed the referee’s dressing room following his side’s defeat to Real Madrid in the first El Clasico of the season.
Joan Laporta was left furious with the referee after seeing Barcelona sink to a disappointing defeat to Real Madrid in the first El Clasico of the La Liga season.
Goals from Karim Benzema, Federico Valverde and Rodrygo were enough to secure the bragging rights for Los Blancos.
Though Ferran Torres scored a late goal, Barca sunk to defeat to cap off a woeful week that has also seen them all but drop out of the Champions League.
But it appears that Laporta pointed the finger of blame for the defeat squarely at referee José María Sánchez Martínez. That led to the Barca chief entering his dressing room after the final whistle to question his decisions.
The match official has detailed in his official report what happened when Laporta confronted him. And it was also revealed that Laporta was “invited to leave” by the refereeing team.
“Once the match was over and the referee team was inside the locker room, the president of FC Barcelona, Joan Laporta Estruch, accessed it, repeatedly requesting explanations about some situations in the match. Given these events, he was invited to leave the arbitration locker room, without further incident,” the report reads.
The first came in the 74th minute when goalkeeper coach José Ramón de la Fuente was booked for protesting one of the referee’s decisions. Six minutes later, Gavi was also cautioned for “recklessly knocking down an opponent while playing for the ball”.
The final booking came just before the end of the match when Franck Kessie was reprimanded for dissent. The defeat means that Barca lost their grip on top spot in La Liga, leaving boss Xavi furious with his side.
“The feeling is that we are in a negative dynamic. That we are trying. We have faith, self-respect. We are trying. Luckily, it’s three points. It was an opportunity to stay at the top and we’re leaving empty-handed,” he said.
“The feeling is very bad, I can’t be happy with almost anything. We had Real Madrid there. We know we’re not doing well. We were doing very well in La Liga. At the first transition, we got caught at 1-0. We are under construction. We need to improve a lot.
“We had our moments. Real Madrid are in the lead. We’re in a very negative dynamic that we have to change as soon as possible. In the second half they were very good. We lacked a lot of decisiveness.
“If we want to win this type of match, we have to change our mentality. We are not in a positive dynamic.
“In the end, we showed a lot of self-belief, but it’s not enough. We’re in a bad dynamic. I’m worried that we’re not attacking well. That we don’t take advantage of our moments. It’s not a great day.”
Click to watch our video of the week:
The Oyo State Government has taken decisive action in response to the tragic death of…
Ex-Queen of the Ooni of Ife, Prophetess Naomi Shikemi, the principal organizer of the tragic…
Ekohotblog reports that the historic Epe Club is gearing up to celebrate its 50th anniversary…