The two titans of Spain, Real Madrid and Sevilla, are all set to lock horns in a La Liga clash at the iconic Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday. The hosts, who stand at the top of the table, will welcome the reigning Europa League champions, Sevilla.
These two sides share an epic rivalry as the most successful La Liga teams in European competitions. They faced each other earlier, with the spoils shared in a 1-1 draw at Sevilla’s home ground in October. Ahead of the highly anticipated meeting, the visitors have filed an official complaint against Real Madrid TV.
What has Real Madrid TV done to incur Sevilla fury?
In a crucial league clash, Sevilla, currently in 15th place, is in search of three vital points in the capital, while Los Blancos will seek a win to maintain their position at the top of the points table. Additionally, the newly crowned UFC Champion, Ilia Topuria, is poised to take the honorary kick-off.
Ahead of the tie, Los Rojiblancos have reported Real Madrid TV, the club’s official TV channel, to the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) for conducting a ‘persecution and harassment campaign’ against two match officials, Díaz de Mera and González Fuertes (VAR), who are the designated referees for tonight’s match at the Bernabeu.
The visitor officially condemned the content published by the Los Blancos official channel, stating, “We wish to underline in the strongest terms our condemnation against these orchestrated campaigns aimed at undermining refereeing integrity” on their website.
The club added, “The club wishes to confirm through a written statement to the Competition Committee of the Spanish Football Federation, we have reported the campaign of persecution and harassment towards the referees Díaz de Mera and González Fuertes for tomorrow evening’s game against Real Madrid, orchestrated by Real Madrid TV, the official club television channel of Real Madrid.”
Was Real Madrid accused of bribery?
Real Madrid stands as one of the most successful clubs in the world in terms of sporting achievements and is also the richest, generating the most revenue with €831 million in gross last season. This figure surpasses the likes of Manchester City, Manchester United, PSG, and Barcelona.
However, they have often faced accusations of bribery over time. Most recently, Barcelona’s manager, Xavi, accused La Liga referees of favoring Real Madrid.
Furthermore, in October last year, the former police commissioner, Jose Manuel Villarejo also strongly accused the club of bribing match officials, naming the club president, Florentino Perez, as well.
Villarejo claimed, “All presidents have done it. Florentino Perez too. Somehow, at Real Madrid, before this (Barca’s Negreira case) the same thing had already been detected, It is impossible to prosecute anything that involves Perez. It would be suicide for anyone who dares to do so. Florentino is untouchable.” In the radio interview.
