RFEF president reproaches Laporta for confronting referee in locker room after El Clasico

President of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, Luis Rubiales has confirmed that he talked to Joan Laporta after the Barcelona president went down to approach referee Sanchez Martinez in his locker room after his side’s 3-1 defeat at hands of Real Madrid over the weekend.

Laporta’s entered the referee’s locker room after the game at the Bernabeu to demand an explanation as to why his side was not awarded a penalty. The incident he was referring to involved Robert Lewandowski and Real Madrid’s Dani Carvajal.

In the 75th minute of the game, the Spanish full-back knocked down Lewandowski in what was seen as a clear goal-scoring opportunity. Despite Barcelona’s heavy protest, Martinez decided to carry on and even warned Xavi after the Barcelona manager decided to ask for an explanation.

In an interview with El Partidazo de la Cope (h/t SPORT), Rubiales said that Laporta was wrong to go to the referee’s locker room

“Of course, the presidents call me to complain about the VAR and they vent. I spoke with [Joan] Laporta yesterday because he knows it’s not good to go down to a referee’s locker room. I think it’s wrong that he went down and I told him,” he explained.

Meanwhile, Rubiales also said that he is totally against the idea of the Super League. “I am totally against it. It would do bestial damage to football.”

Also acknowledging the allegations regarding his relationship with Barcelona defender Gerard Pique, Rubiales said that the latter was not paid a single euro during the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia.

“The four million are paid by Saudi Arabia, not the RFEF; we have not paid Pique a single euro. The scandal is that there is a headline that says that we take the Super Cup in Saudi Arabia for Pique to collect the commission,” Rubiales recalled.