Luis Enrique declined to wade in to Josep Maria Bartomeu’s comments regarding a supposed conspiracy against Barcelona.
Enrique appeared before the Press to preview La Blaugrana’s Copa del Rey first leg at minnows Villanovense, and, after revealing he’d prefer the Cup to be a straight knockout competition, was asked about a range of other issues.
“I’ve said 150,000 times I focus on the things I can control and change,” he said, Sport reports.
“The rest is part of the circus and I don’t participate in it.”
The subject of Javier Mascherano was raised after the Argentina international was sent off for using foul and abusing language towards an official, a charge he denies.
“It’s not a question of what I think [about the incident]. The sanction will be what it is, let them decide. I’ll limit myself to respecting the punishment. There’s no getting around it,” he replied when asked about the case.
“There has been an improvement in the behaviour of the team. I don’t see anything unusual beyond the typical protests.
The Coach added that as well as the senior players he has rested from the squad, he would have liked to have been able to leave more out.
“We are limited because there has to be seven first team players on the pitch,” he pointed out.
“I would have liked to have given more rest to players. This way, fewer opportunities are given to the younger players.”
