El Clasico: A Look At The Sudden Referee Change And The Decisions Made At The Bernabeu

We can all recall how four clasicos have accumulated in a span of 18 days due to La Liga, the Copa del Rey, and the UEFA Champions League semi-finals. It was the night of the third El Clasico: tensions were high pre-game, during the game, and post-game. Interviews started flying here and there weeks before the fated clash, starting with the appointment of a Portuguese referee named Pedro Proenca for this first leg clash at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu. This decision prompted Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola to comment on how Mourinho would be pleased to have a referee from his country, which clearly started the cold war between the managers. As if on cue, UEFA stepped in and wouldn’t you know it, the referee assigned to the match was changed and it was now to be officiated by a German referee named Wolfgang Stark.

We all know what happened during the game. To be fair to both sides, none of them played in the brilliant form they were known to have and this made both sides equal, 0-0 before halftime. The tide was turned towards Barcelona’s favor when Portuguese defender Pepe was sent off due to a tackle on Brazilian Dani Alves. The latter was sprawled on the grass, screaming and “hurt”. He was stretchered off the pitch while his comrades crowded the referee, prompting him to give a fatal decision, a typical Barcelona act. Indeed, everything went to their favor and a red was shown. Surprisingly enough, Alves was back on the pitch minutes later, as if nothing happened. This was what sparked curses and much verbal contention in Twitter and other social networking sites, involving football players and official sports channels themselves. Quoting Rio Ferdinand, a Manchester United defender, on his Twitter post: “If you ever see me go off on a stretcher then run back on to play, I give everyone on here the green light to hit me with a 2-footed tackle”. True, Pepe has made several tackles during the game worthy of a yellow but much to the chagrin of Madridistas and neutral fans alike, the Villarato won. For the third time in five consecutive years, a referee decision helped Barcelona gain an obvious advantage. What does Villarato mean?

Having been elected at least four times by the end of 2004, Angel Maria Villar has been the president of the Spanish Football Federation since 1988, and he is now the vice-president of FIFA and UEFA. But the crucial role he plays in all of these games is that he is the chairman of the UEFA Referees Committee. Coincidentally, Real Madrid has been one of the clubs who have aggressively opposed his new term and that’s when things started to get ugly for the Merengues. Enter 2005, yet another coincident has revealed itself. This has been the year when Barcelona started their formidable campaign both in the domestic league, the cup league, and the Champions League. Penalties, off-sides, and card decisions have helped the club ascend to the next level of several competitions, while “coincidentally”, Los Blancos started to suffer due to obvious penalties that were not awarded, questionable red cards, and ridiculous offsides. It has been a pattern – and it will continue to be a pattern in years to come.

Was it a surprise that Barcelona got Shakthar Donetsk? Were you astounded when a past flame was brought to the open once again, having Arsenal paired with Barcelona during the quarterfinals? More so, was it a coincidence that the semi-finals was against Real Madrid? I don’t know about you but personally, I don’t think so. I am not implying anything but as a football fan, there is this certain gut feel, and it’s telling me something. Then again, it could just be the obvious hype UEFA will receive for hosting controversial matches.