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Bilbao fans waved bills at the "corrupt" Barcelona. Xavi: "It saddens me" - Voila! sport

2023-03-13T10:23:54.216Z


The Negira affair: the protest in Spain against Barcelona continues amid the corruption charges and the money transferred to the judge. Xavi: "Barca is being judged too early. It's not good for our company"


Summary: Real Madrid - Barcelona 1:0 (Sport1)

Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez said he was surprised and saddened by the hostility directed towards Barcelona by Athletic Bilbao fans yesterday (Sunday) during his team's 1-0 win at San Mames.



Rafinha scored the only goal of the game to restore Barcelona's nine-point lead at the top of the league as Athletic fans protested against the leaders following allegations that the Catalan club bought favorable treatment from referees.



The home crowd threw bills labeled "Mafia $" onto the field in the first half with the Barca logo, calling for the "corrupt" Barcelona to be relegated to the second division.



"I respect the fans at San Mames," Xavi said in his post-match press conference.

"They always treated me well, but I was surprised by the hostile atmosphere towards Barca.



"It was sad to see.

Barca is being judged too soon, which I think is not good for the company.

Everyone is free to voice their opinion, and I respect all opinions, whether I agree with them or not,



Does he expect the same atmosphere in other upcoming games and if it will affect his players?

Xavi said: "I have nothing more to add, only that it saddens me... We didn't talk about it in the dressing room with the players, we are here to win and focus on football. We are all professionals."

Athletic Bilbao fans wave bills with the symbol of Barcelona and call for them to be relegated (Photo: GettyImages, Juan Manuel Serrano Arce)

You should get used to it.

Xavi (Photo: Reuters)

The prosecution in Spain filed an indictment on corruption charges against Barcelona on Friday after it was revealed that it made payments of 7 million euros to a company owned by the former vice president of the Judiciary Commission between 2001 and 2018.



Former presidents Sandro Rossell and Josep Maria Bartomeu, along with former judge Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, are also included among the accused.



Barca strongly denies any wrongdoing and says it never bought referees or influence, and that the club paid Langierra for "technical reports on refereeing".



On Sunday, Real Madrid announced that they too would join the complaint filed by prosecutors against Barca, prompting Blaugrana president Juan Laporte to once again tweet the club's "innocence", claiming they were the "victims of a campaign" against them.

  • sport

  • world football

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  • Barcelona in football

  • Xavi

Source: walla

All sports articles on 2023-03-13

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