Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez seems to be under the impression that his side are being persecuted by the referees, or at the very least that Real Madrid are being favoured. That was the view he took just days before the season started, following a meeting with the referees.
During the week leading up to the start of La Liga, the Referees Committee (CTA) met with all of the managers in La Liga to set out their intentions for the season and create dialogue with them. Sport say that Xavi attended the meeting virtually, but did not speak much during the meeting.
He was surprised by the closeness between Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti and Head of the CTA Luis Medina Cantalejo, and also raised an eyebrow when the Italian asked the referees to use VAR less, only doing so for clear and obvious situations.
Leaving for home, Xavi was concerned by what he saw, and when he arrived, he said that ‘we can forget about this league, we won’t win it now’.
Xavi said at the weekend following Real Madrid’s win over Almeria that some things ‘didn’t add up’ for him, and noted that from the very first day of the season, he had maintained that ‘it would be very difficult for us to win this league.’
Ancelotti’s comments are no secret, he has been public in his demands for less VAR intervention. Equally, the Italian manager does tend to be on good terms with most people he crosses, as a result of his generally amiable temperament.