President Florentino Perez has commented on Real Madrid’s ultra element and what has been done to reduce their influence.
Perez’s remarks came after police arrested over 40 people this week in connection with the death of a Deportivo la Coruna fan before the game with Real Madrid on November 30.
“When I became President I took over a club that valued fair play and did not want to be associated with violence,” he stated in an interview with La Graderia.
“The first thing I did was to propose Alfredo di Stefano for the honorary presidency, while the next thing was to remove the perimeter fences.
“I’m not sure if the incidents in Brussels or England were behind it but at that time the ultras were in a corner, so we moved them behind the goal, behind perspex screens.
“When there was a bomb scare the whole stadium emptied without fuss.”
Perez explained that the ultras’ impact on proceedings at the club has been gradually reduced in recent years and that there are no longer any violent types inside the Bernabeu.
“They’ve never had any merchandising from us and never been involved in any financial aspect within the club.
“From 2000 to 2013 there wasn’t a single incident and everyone can say what they want, but I got rid of the fencing and the moat and there were no problems.
“Last year there was an attempt to secure power of the group and knives were used, although for me that lasted just five minutes.
“In fact it encouraged me to set up an animated group, free of swastikas and the like, and this new faction are now on the second and third tier of the ground.
“I’m Madrid President in good times and bad and believe in zero tolerance for violent groups. I fully support the Spanish League and the Higher Sports Council in working to eradicate the problem from our game.
“I can assure you there are no violent fans in the Bernabeu because we’ve got rid of them.”
Perez admitted, however, that the ultras have tried to bully the club in recent times.
“Have they tried to threaten us? Yes. Have they tried to put pressure on us? Yes. But whilst I’m President there will be no more violent types.
“These are delinquents and they should not be inside football grounds but somewhere else,” he concluded.
