Tito slams Madrid referee talk

Barcelona boss Tito Vilanova responded angrily to suggestions referee Carlos Delgado Ferreira favoured his team in El Clasico.

Both Real Madrid defender Pepe and boss Jose Mourinho suggested afterwards that the official had been particularly kind to Barca during the 2-2 draw at the Camp Nou.

However, Vilanova had a slightly different view of things and felt it was his team that had been hard done by as a result of some unfair decisions by the official.

“For someone who does not talk about referees Mourinho has already spoken,” he told the post-match Press conference.

“There was a clear foul on [Andres] Iniesta before Madrid’s second goal so if we are going to talk about decisions then let’s talk about everything, not just the ones that interest us.

“So Pepe says we are actors? You could make a video with all the kicks he gave us,” said Vilanova in reference to the Portuguese centre-back’s accusation that the Barcelona players had been theatrical.

Nonetheless, Vilanova insisted that he now has a cordial relationship with Mourinho.

“He told me it was a great game and I said the same. Our relationship is good and he now greets me.

“When I was assistant Coach he didn’t. Are Madrid closer to us now? I don’t know. Those are his words not mine.”

The Barca boss decided to start the game with Adriano in central defence in place of Alex Song and explained the reasoning behind his decision.

“I spoke to him [Adriano] about Madrid’s movement and how they always play balls over the top. He is a quick player and we wanted him to be up to it, so I thank him for what he did.

“I also want to thank [Gerard] Pique for working morning and night to try to make it, although it wasn’t to be.

“Our usual defence is [Dani] Alves, Pique, [Carles] Puyol and [Eric] Abidal and today we were missing all of them. Montoya had to face Cristiano Ronaldo without warming up, but we showed that those who come in have an incredible ability to adapt.

“When [Seydou] Keita left Song came in to play as a holding midfielder, but we were playing Madrid and he is still not quite ready, something that counted against him.

“Song is fast but not as fast as Adriano. We made many changes but Adriano played really well. I was the one who decided to sign Song, nobody else, and [Marc] Bartra will have more games in the future but I didn’t want to expose him in this situation.”

Although happy with the result, Vilanova maintained he was satisfied despite feeling the outcome could have been better.

“If you had told me at the beginning of the season that we would be eight points clear of Madrid I’d have taken it, but we had the chance to have made it 11.

“We never thought of playing for a draw, although we would have been crazy to have gone on all-out attack as we were playing just three defenders.

“[Martin] Montoya and Pedro could have scored near the end but I am satisfied with my team after a hard-fought match. We showed ambition and we have seen a very good game,” he concluded.

Tags Camp Nou Clasico Iniesta mourinho Pepe Vilanova
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