UEFA rejects protests from Real Madrid

Real and Barca players argue during their Champions League semi-final first leg in Madrid last Wednesday. [AFP/YONHAP]

NYON, Switzerland - Real Madrid’s plea for UEFA to open new investigations into Barcelona players’ Champions League behavior was rejected on Monday.

UEFA rejected fresh protests by both clubs and said no new charges would be leveled following a bad-tempered semifinal, first-leg match last Wednesday, which Barcelona won 2-0.

Instead, UEFA’s disciplinary committee will on Friday examine six charges against the two clubs, one for Barcelona and five for Madrid, which includes two for Madrid coach Jose Mourinho.

Mourinho made offensive comments to match officials and said UEFA actively helped Barcelona reach the Champions League final.

Madrid reacted by asking UEFA to sanction Daniel Alves, Pedro Rodriguez and Sergio Busquets for feigning injuries.

It also wanted UEFA to look again at a red card shown to Pepe for his tackle on Alves when the match was scoreless after an hour.

“In the case of the behavior of the Barcelona players, it was deemed that there was no common strategy to provoke the Real Madrid players, while in the case of Pepe, the referee’s factual decision is upheld,” UEFA said in a statement. “As a result, the player Pepe is suspended for the Barcelona-Real Madrid match on [Tuesday].”

Mourinho will also serve a touchline ban at the Camp Nou after being sent from the dugout last Wednesday.

Madrid assistant coach Aitor Karanka said UEFA’s decision to reject the club’s claims, which included an accusation that Busquets spouted a racist slur at Brazilian defender Marcelo, would lead to more ugly scenes on Tuesday.

“Everyone’s seen the images of what’s happened at the Bernabeu," Karanka said. “Tomorrow you’ll see players on the field that don’t respect the rules, spewing racist phrases and not respecting football’s values.”

Karanka also hit out at UEFA’s decision to ban Mourinho and several Madrid players earlier in the season for deliberately earning yellow cards to wipe their playing slate clean.

“UEFA didn’t come through with a ruling on something that is in its statutes when just a few months ago it sanctioned Madrid for things that are not in the regulations,” Karanka said.

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola said the club would take action against Busquets if racist remarks were spoken.

“We are going to take some decisions about that,” Guardiola said. “We are not proud when our players make those kind of wrong actions. But I know these kinds of players and they are honest.”

Barcelona’s additional complaint regarding Mourinho’s post-match rant also was rejected by a single member of UEFA’s disciplinary committee.

“Barcelona have been referred to the proceedings already brought against Jose Mourinho,” the statement said.

On Friday, UEFA will consider charges against Mourinho plus Pepe for his sending off and Madrid for its fans throwing missiles and invading the pitch.

Barcelona faces a single charge, for its unused substitute goalkeeper Jose Pinto receiving a red card for his part in a touchline brawl at halftime.

AP

한글 관련 기사 [OSEN]

UEFA, 레알의 UCL 4강전 판정 이의신청 ‘기각’

유럽축구연맹(UEFA)이 레알 마드리드의 이의 신청을 기각했다.

레알 마드리드는 지난달 28일(이하 한국시간) 스페인 마드리드서 열린 바르셀로나와 `2010-2011 UEFA 챔피언스리그` 준결승 1차전 홈경기에서 0-2로 완패를 당했다. 그렇지만 레알 마드리드는 결과에 승복하지 않았다.

레알 마드리드는 후반 16분 나온 페페의 퇴장이 결정적인 오심이라고 주장했고, 또한 바르셀로나의 주전 선수들이 페어 플레이에 어긋나는 행동을 했다며 UEFA에 이의를 제기 했다. 레알 마드리드는 그에 대한 증거로 자신들의 공식 홈페이지에 영상을 올리며, 주장을 뒷받침했다.

그렇지만 레알 마드리드의 이런 노력은 헛수고가 됐다. 지난 2일 밤 AFP 통신을 비롯한 유럽의 여러 매체들이 UEFA가 레알 마드리드의 이의 신청을 기각했다고 전한 것.

UEFA는 스위스 니옹에서 임시 회의를 열어 논의를 했지만, 레알 마드리드의 이의 신청을 받아들일 용의가 없다고 전했다. UEFA는 바르셀로나 선수들이 페어 플레이에 어긋났다는 점과 페페의 퇴장이 오심이라는 것을 인정하지 않았다.

한편 레알 마드리드는 오는 4일 바르셀로나의 홈 구장인 캄프 노우로 떠나 `2010-2011 UEFA 챔피언스리그` 준결승 2차전을 갖는다. 레알 마드리드는 사령탑 조세 무리뉴 감독과 페페가 1차전의 퇴장으로 경기에 나올 수 없으며, 수비의 핵 세르히오 라모스도 경고 누적으로 결장한다.