More than 24 hours before the Clasico between Barcelona and Real Madrid, Real Madrid's official channel intensified its criticism of refereeing in matches between the two clubs. The segment compared sendings-off since 2000, presented figures on disallowed goals, and referred again to the Negreira case.
Red-card comparison
Real Madrid's official channel compared the number of sendings-off since 2000 in matches involving Barcelona and Real Madrid. The channel said: "Since 2000, 12 Barcelona players have been sent off, compared to 23 on our side, almost double, which is abnormal when watching many of the clips."
The channel also invoked incidents involving Sergio Busquets, Gavi and Frenkie de Jong and argued some of their challenges warranted a sending-off.
Disallowed goals and penalties
The channel presented figures on disallowed goals that it said showed a disparity in decisions between the two rivals. The channel said: "Barcelona have had four goals disallowed, compared to 20 for Real Madrid. Goals have been unjustly disallowed for us, while goals have been unjustly awarded to them. It is a scandal."
The channel accused referees of allowing Barcelona goals despite offsides or fouls in the build-up while disallowing goals it considered valid for Real Madrid. The channel said: "There are many penalties that have not been awarded to us, while they award penalties as a result of simulated falls."
Reference to the Negreira case
The channel spoke of "refereeing imbalances in Clasico matches, always in the same direction". The channel said: "Watching our videos is harmful to the health of Real Madrid fans, in light of all these abnormal incidents."
The channel referred again to the Negreira case in an allusion to payments Barcelona made to a company connected to Jose Maria Negreira, the former official on the Spanish refereeing committee. The channel said: "They are the ones who paid the money."
The channel also said: "Jose Mota could make the videos bringing Barcelona players together with the referees."