🚨 OFFICIAL: Barcelona statement.
“The president of FC Barcelona, Rafael Yuste y Abel, today sent a formal letter to the presidents of LaLiga, Javier Tebas; of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), Rafael Louzán; and the Technical Committee of Referees (CTA), Francisco Soto, in relation to the statements made by the president of Real Madrid CF, Florentino Pérez, in various public appearances on May 12 and 13.
FC Barcelona considers that these statements, in addition to being false, seriously violate the honorability and image of the League competition in the First Division, as well as against the refereeing system in its entirety, and damage the reputation and credibility of Spanish professional football.
The Club urges the co-organizers of the competition and the referees to defend the reputation of their bodies - just as the Club has recently done with the filing of the request for conciliation - and asks the recipient entities, within the scope of their respective competences, to urgently adopt the appropriate associative and judicial measures against Mr. Pérez to defend the honorability, integrity and prestige of the institutions they represent and the competitions they organize”.
Somali referee Omar Artan will still be paid his full World Cup fee.
Artan arrived in Miami with a diplomatic passport and a valid visa but was denied entry into the United States.
The US government allege Artan has links with members of terror organisations. During a lengthy interrogation, Artan denied this, or any ties with the Somali militant group Al Shabab.
🚨 BREAKING: Enzo Fernandez is keen to join Marc Cucurella at Real Madrid and has made no secret of wanting to leave Chelsea.
Chelsea's asking price remains £120m and are calm about the situation, but they will sell at the right price.
— @JacobsBen