Real criticise UEFA after complaint rejected
Reuters - Monday 02 May 2011, 19:16
BARCELONA - Real Madrid assistant coach
Aitor Karanka criticised UEFA on Monday for rejecting the
Spanish club's complaint against Barcelona filed after last
week's ill-tempered Champions League semi-final first leg.
Standing in for Jose Mourinho, who was sent from the bench
in the second half of Real's 2-0 defeat at the Bernabeu, Karanka
told a news conference UEFA's decision smacked of double
standards.
He noted that European football's governing body had punished
some of Real's players and Mourinho earlier this season for what
it ruled was the deliberate engineering of cards, something he
said was not in UEFA's statutes.
"Now they have decided not to punish Barca for something
that is in their rules," he said after Real accused some of the
Catalan club's players of play-acting and diving.
"Everyone saw the pictures of what happened at the
Bernabeu," Karanka added.
"In football there are certain values of respect and fair
play. Tomorrow on the pitch there will players who do not
respect them.
"After UEFA's decision tomorrow's match is relegated to
second place."
UEFA also dismissed Barca's complaint against Real over
comments by coach Jose Mourinho belittling the achievements of
his counterpart Pep Guardiola and suggesting there was a
conspiracy among referees to favour the Catalan club.
UEFA has brought charges against both teams over the
incidents in the first leg and they face a disciplinary hearing
on Friday.