Institutional letter sent to UEFA regarding Paris events

Toni Freixa gave a press conference today following the meeting of the Board of Directors to say that “the Club has sent an institutional letter to UEFA regarding a series of events that occurred on the field of play, for it is our objective understanding that the referee clearly failed to apply the laws of the game”. He was referring to the incident at the Parc des Princes against Paris Saint Germain when Mascherano and Jordi Alba were injured in a collision inside their own area.

He went on to say that “when two players from the same team are lying on the ground, the referee has to stop the game, and that didn’t happen. Not only that, but he made them leave the field, which goes against the rules. This is a serious enough thing to happen in a Champions League match for us to write to UEFA and make sure it never happens again”.

Freixa also made it clear that “we are fully aware that referees can make mistakes and we don’t feel unfairly treated, but what calls our attention is that in a high level competition, a referee didn’t know the rules. We are not judging the refereeing, but a basic principle. A judge has to know the law. We hope this never happens again … Barça do not complain about referees. Not a bit or a lot. We are denouncing an objective error of not applying the rules”.

Other agreements

The secretary and spokesman for the Board also mentioned other issues that were discussed at the meeting.
With respect to the vacant site belonging to the Club at the Ciutat Esportiva in Sant Joan Despí, they have agreed to continue promoting the construction of two pavilions with terracing. The idea is to apply the youth system used for football to the other sports sections. He also revealed that they are finalising new commercial deals through the Marketing Department, but for confidentiality reasons, he is unable to announce any further details for the time being.

Finally, Freixa explained that they are making good progress with the revision of the Statutes. “We are complying with the Board’s objective of making the Club more democratic, which was one of the commitments of our election manifesto” he said.