In the hours leading up to the King’s Cup final, tensions exploded once again between referees and Real Madrid.  The press conference given by González Fuertes and De Burgos Bengoetxea provoked indignation from the Madrid board, forcing them to demand a change of referee and to stop both training sessions and the pre-match press event.

 However, Barcelona didn’t say much about it until Monday, when club president Joan Laporta spoke about it in an interview on “source.”

Laporta attempted to avoid focusing too much on the issue, although he did provide some subtle criticisms of the Madrid management’s strategy.  “We sought to avoid it, but to me, it was just another tactic.  We were going to discuss football.  We were certain that the show would be deserving of the world’s greatest match.  We fulfilled our obligations and avoided engaging in uninteresting conversation,” Laporta clarified.

He went on to say, “The rest is part of a circus; we have the healthy ambition to win in every tournament we enter.  We make an effort to keep our distance from the cacophony.  Laporta gave Madrid’s Florentino Pérez a hand despite his criticisms, stating that they got along well in the box: “We have a mutually respectful relationship; he congratulated us.”

 Laporta commented that “the refereeing was good” during the final in terms of officiating.  “There isn’t much to dispute because the referee listened to the VAR in some of the judgments.  However, we are aware that officiating is never perfect, just as team performance isn’t always great,” he said in closing.

Laporta turned his attention away from the controversy and toward sports, praising coach Hansi Flick and saying he was pleasantly surprised by him: “Expectations were already high, but the reality is surpassing what we anticipated thanks to the players, Flick, and the coaching staff.”

“Deco and Bojan decided on him as Barça’s coach,” Laporta said, acknowledging his astonishment but retaining faith in Flick’s ability to deliver results.  I always have a voice because I am president.  I told Deco that I wanted him, and I had always supported this option.  I told Deco when the chance presented itself, and he investigated.  They liked Flick better than other possibilities.  Any decision taken would have been acceptable to me.

 In reference to Hansi Flick’s extension, Laporta stated that the coach planned “year by year” and wants to concentrate on the near future.  “For both this season and the next, we have Hansi.  The club’s top official declared, “The sports commission is working on immediate future planning.”