Barcelona president hits back at Real Madrid over complaint to UEFA: ‘Diverting attention from other issues’

Barcelona president hits back at Real Madrid over complaint to UEFA: ‘Diverting attention from other issues’ Barcelona president Joan Laporta dismissed Real Madrid’s complaint to UEFA over the Negreira case, insisting he is confident the club have nothing to fear. After delivering his inauguration speech to mark the start of his new presidential term, Laporta addressed reporters, where he was asked about Real Madrid’s recent complaint to UEFA requesting disciplinary action against Barcelona . The Merengues sent a detailed dossier of refereeing decisions that they believed had favoured the Catalans, linking it to the Negreira case. Laporta not bothered Laporta, who had earlier aimed a dig at Florentino Perez, described Real Madrid’s actions as little more than a tantrum and repeated his confidence that the complaint would not produce the outcome the club hopes for. “They won’t get their way,” he maintained. Unfazed by Real Madrid’s complaint to UEFA. (Photo by Eric Alonso/Getty Images) He repeated the phrase several times during his response, stressing that Barcelona knows UEFA’s position on the matter. According to Laporta, the complaint is an attempt to prolong an issue that has already been extensively examined. “We know what UEFA thinks about this matter, and they won’t get their way. It’s just another tantrum on their part; they’re trying to drag this out to justify actions that make no sense and won’t succeed,” he said. “The case is before the ordinary courts and we’ve been dealing with this for a long time. We have submitted the evidence in the proceedings. The opposing parties have not provided [anything].” Accusing Real Madrid of creating a distraction Laporta argued that Real Madrid’s complaint is designed to divert attention away from issues affecting the club itself. Laporta claimed Real Madrid are using this noise as distraction. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images) He suggested the move has helped generate media attention while shifting the focus away from more uncomfortable topics, such as ongoing discussions about Real Madrid’s ownership model, as well as the issues with the Santiago Bernabeu. “This has served them well in stirring up a fuss and diverting attention from other issues. “Their efforts to become a public limited company, and other matters that aren’t going quite to plan, such as the fact that there won’t be any music and they don’t know where they’ll have to park,” he quipped. Background to the dispute Laporta’s comments come after Real Madrid president Perez described the Negreira case as “the biggest scandal in the history of world football” and stated that UEFA could not allow football to remain under suspicion of corruption. Barcelona previously warned, while Rafael Yuste was serving as acting president, that the club would pursue criminal defamation proceedings if Perez did not retract those statements. Despite the latest escalation between Spain’s two biggest clubs, Laporta made it clear that he remains convinced Barcelona’s position is secure and that Real Madrid’s latest complaint will not change the outcome.