"The Negreira case of distorting the facts": fiery attack from Laporta's adviser on Real Madrid and Mourinho

They do not respect all the clubs

Enrique Masip, adviser to Barcelona president Joan Laporta, has launched a fierce attack on Real Madrid, days before the two sides meet in El Clasico, scheduled for next Sunday.

According to the newspaper "AS", Masip tore into Real Madrid over "their repeated references to the Negreira case to tarnish Barcelona's reputation".

His criticism was blunt. He accused the Madrid club of mistreating Barcelona and attacking La Liga, all the clubs and the refereeing committee through their repeated accusations.

Masip said: "When someone resorts to these methods, which are not born of chance but are a mixture of the coach, certain media outlets, television channels and clubs... they are trying to cover up their own problems by alluding to their biggest rival".

He continued: "The aim is to distort Barcelona's image, and this is what makes us feel insulted and angry. Over three and a half years, nothing has been proven, and nothing will be. Nothing has happened. Barcelona won titles and matches thanks to their style of play".

And he went further: "For many years, we did not touch on the dark periods in this country when a certain team was already favoured and won titles because of this bias. There are red lines that should not be crossed, and they have indeed been crossed".

Distracting attention and covering up their shortcomings

Real Madrid's accusations, Masip insisted, are meant to distract attention and cover up their shortcomings. He reaffirmed that they harm every Spanish club.

He said: "They use talk shows as if they were juries, and reports as if they were court rulings. And to avoid the problem, they dodge mentioning Negreira in newspaper headlines or irrelevant interviews".

His next point hit harder: "They talk about Negreira when they should be talking about what is happening to them. It is a red line that must not be crossed. They are harming La Liga and the Spanish Federation. They are attacking and mistreating the entire competition, all the clubs, and the referees".

The Barcelona official added: "They will turn to UEFA... They do not respect all the clubs, even though they believe the matter only affects one club".

On the distortion, he said: "They are distorting the image. For me, it is shameful that they use these methods to divert attention from what they are doing".

Then came a dig at the coach: "When someone says they see strange things... these strange things mean pointing the finger of accusation at the coach. When things do not go your way, you have to improve your performance, not resort to attacking others".

He went on: "They are trying to inflict harm because they have the means, but people do not believe them".

Laporta's adviser attacks Mourinho

Mourinho drew his sharpest words: "He makes scathing criticisms. Look at a Mourinho press conference and a Flick press conference... Flick, even after being wronged, look at how he talks about the opponent, and the respect he shows for them, for the players and the coach... these are Barcelona's values".

He added: "You can say a lot, but you do not do it... For Mourinho and Real Madrid, the mistake is always someone else's".

The accusations do not affect Barcelona or the dressing room, Masip said, and he was confident the pressure from Real Madrid would not sway the refereeing in El Clasico.

He stressed: "I believe in the professionalism of the referees. It is madness to question that".

The Guler incident

Then he turned to the controversial elbow by Arda Guler: "Did no one see the elbow? The same thing happened with a goal scored by Lewandowski or Lamine at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium, where, strangely, the camera was not working. And that was the only angle in which it was clear that the ball had crossed the line. And we did not make a fuss or spend the whole day complaining about it. It is a mistake, and it must be accepted. And it is interesting that things always go the same way".

Masip added: "The images of Guler were not clear, but it is an elbow, that is all there is to it. The elbow warrants a red card. The next day they do not talk about it... but if a similar incident occurs in Seville, everything is set in motion to talk about that case".