The lawyer who took the claim of pressure on referees in the Clasico to the authorities believes ‘it’s the only way to clean up football.’
Jacinto Vicente was contacted by an assistant referee who had heard from another official that there was pressure from a member of the Referees Committee to ensure Real Madrid were favoured over Barcelona.
“Someone made me aware that there was an official who had a problem and wanted to talk,” Vicente told Sport.
“It’s deductible that they’re not from Barcelona, because they wouldn’t have been picked for the game.
“For professional reasons I had to go to Barcelona, and I met with him. He explained what had happened and wanted to go public with this pressure because it’s the only way to clean up Spanish football and the only way to change such a closed system.
“I advised him that going public wasn’t the best solution but it would be better to go to the police. He’s afraid because he doesn’t want his name to get out. If it does he could have serious problems professionally.
“I told him he should first talk to the police and the prosecutors. On October 19 I got in touch with the Guardia Civil and the Barcelona Anticorruption prosecutor is already investigating.”
The Referees Committee member alleged to have attempted to sway the referees was named in other reports as Jose Angel Jimenez Munoz de Morales, who briefly commented on the accusation.
