Jordi Alba Reveals Team Unaware Barcelona Allegedly Buying Referees

A committee recently revealed in their reporting that the referee who officiated the 2017 UEFA Champions League Round of 16 second-leg contest between Paris Saint-Germain and FC Barcelona. 

Nonetheless, during an interview with “Viajando con Chester,” Barcelona defender Jordi Alba was asked about the current officiating controversy that is currently surrounding the club. 

The 33-year-old stated that he wasn’t aware that Barcelona was buying referees and recalled the 2014 La Liga title race as evidence that the officials weren’t biased toward the Catalan side.

“If we won, we would win the League in the last game,” Alba said (h/t Marca). “We were going 1-1 and Atlético de Madrid would win with a draw or victory; only victory was worth it to us.

“It was a play that they crossed; I think it rebounded from a player from Atlético; it was not offside and Leo Messi scored and our goal was disallowed. They took away the League.”

Regarding the PSG incident, the report from the committee highlighted two mistakes that the referee made during that contest. They are the penalty committed by Javier Mascherano in the 84th minute that was not sanctioned and the penalty given against Luis Suárez in the 89th minute.

While domestically, it doesn’t appear that there might be many sanctions, aside from economic ones, that cannot be said at the international level. El Confidencial (h/t Sport) has reported that UEFA is considering excluding Barcelona from European competition over Caso Negreira.

It will be interesting to see how this situation transpires and whether Barcelona is found guilty and face any severe penalties. 

Tags Barcelona Jordi Alba
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