Real Madrid gave reply to Barcelona's decision to report Jose Mourinho to
UEFA by announcing they are also lodging a report with European
football's governing body, accusing the Catalan club's players of
"feigning aggressions" during Wednesday's Champions League clash.
Those two announcements came after UEFA had confirmed earlier in the day
that both Spanish clubs will face disciplinary hearings following
incidents during the ill-tempered semi-final first leg at the Bernabeu,
which Barca won 2-0.
Madrid Manager point clearly the unsportsmanlike behaviour of Barcelona players,who consistently played aggressive with the sole
purpose of misleading the referee of the match, which clearly led to the
unfair decision to dismiss our player Pepe".
Two of the five charges against Madrid are related to the conduct of Managar Mourinho, firstly for his dismissal during the match - after he was
sent off after protesting against the red card shown to Madrid
midfielder Pepe - and the other relating to his "inappropriate
statement" during the post-match press conference.
Mourinho implied that they got unfavourable treatment from referees and
claimed the Catalan club had yet to win a "clean" Champions League title
under Pep Guardiola.
Mourinho said: "It's clear that against Barcelona you have no chance. I don't understand why.
I don't know if it's the publicity of UNICEF [the club's shirt sponsor],
I don't know if it's the friendship of [Spanish football federation
president Angel Maria] Villar at UEFA, where he is vice-president, I
don't know if it's because they are very nice, but they have got this
power. The rest of us have no chance."
He also said: "Guardiola is a fantastic coach, but he has won one Champions
League which I would be ashamed to win after the scandal at Stamford
Bridge and this year, if he wins it again, it will be after the scandal
at the Bernabeu."
The first 'scandal' Mourinho referred to was the Champions League
semi-final between Barca and Chelsea in 2009, when the former progressed
to the final following a controversial second leg when the London side
had four penalty claims turned down. Barca won the final against
Manchester United in Rome.
Following an extraordinary board
meeting at the Catalan club on Thursday afternoon, spokesman Toni Freixa
said Barca "want to defend the history, prestige and reputation of our
members, fans, players, coaches and directors, who with their hard work
and their effort won the 2009 Champions League. It's unacceptable that
someone questions our titles and our links with UNICEF."