Real criticise UEFA after complaint rejected

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 semifinal 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 soccer’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.

“The protests lodged by Real Madrid against the behaviour of the FC Barcelona players during the match and against the red card shown to Pepe are rejected,” UEFA said in a statement on Monday.

“In the case of the behaviour of the Barcelona players, it was deemed that there was no common strategy to provoke the Real Madrid player, while in the case of Pepe, the referee’s factual decision is upheld.

“As a result, the player Pepe is suspended for the Barcelona-Real Madrid match on May 3.

“The complaint lodged Barcelona against the comments made by the Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho to the press, was also rejected,” UEFA said.

“In this instance, Barcelona have been referred to the proceedings already brought against Jose Mourinho which will be heard ... on May 6.

“No new disciplinary proceedings are therefore to be opened against Jose Mourinho on the basis of the complaint lodged by FC Barcelona.”

Two Lionel Messi goals gave Barcelona a 2-0 win in a match marred by incessant play acting and harrassment of the referee and linesmen by both teams.

The second leg is at the Nou Camp on Tuesday.

Pepe was sent off for a studs-up lunge at Daniel Alves in the second half while Mourinho was ordered from the touchline for the manner in which he protested the decision.

A scuffle on the touchline at halftime led to a red card for Barcelona’s reserve goalkeeper Jose Manuel Pinto.

UEFA will on Friday look into the red cards with the possibility of extending the automatic one-match bans for the offenders.

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