Athletic Bilbao fans mocked Barcelona during their game last night at the San Mames, trying to send a message against corruption. The fans threw fake money on to the pitch to mock the La Liga leaders amidst the growing referee scandal surrounding Barcelona.
The fake money had the Barcelona logo printed on them along with “Mafia” written in large capitals with a dollar sign next to it.
Reacting to the incident, Xavi said that he respects the crowd at San Mames, as they “have always treated me well”. But he also added that the evening’s atmosphere of “hostility”, “surprises me and saddens me” as “judging prematurely is not good for society”.
Image: Image: The banknotes that Athletic Club fans threw onto the pitch in the 30th minute as a protest against the Negreira case. pic.twitter.com/LJuEkH60z6
— Barça Universal (@BarcaUniversal) March 12, 2023
Barcelona are accused of allegedly paying over $7.8 million to the Former Vice President of the Referees Committee Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira from 2001 to 2018. However, the club denied any wrongdoing and insist that any payments made were for above board consultation work.
Athletic Bilbao club President Uriarte also had his say on the matter:
“Our position was made clear when we joined La Liga’s statement on the matter. We want this to be thoroughly investigated and if the facts are confirmed, we are firmly committed to filing against this type of action; we will continue to follow the case with a lot of attention”.