Amid the ongoing Negreira scandal, Barcelona are unaffected by off-field affairs, according to head coach Xavi.
The Catalan giants are under investigation by UEFA, and Spanish prosecutors are filing charges of alleged corruption, allegedly paying more than €7 million to a company owned by former vice president of the refereeing committee in Spain, José María Enríquez Negreira.
La Liga is unable to take action due to the statute of limitations in Spain, but speaking on Monday, UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin confirmed there were no such restrictions on their investigation and spoke of the severity of the scandal.
Barcelona have denied any wrongdoing.
And Xavi insists that the allegations do not affect his team.
“Out-of-sport issues are not resolved in the locker room. We talk about how to defend, how to attack. We are not talking about UEFA or Negreira, ”he said at a press conference before the second leg of the semi-final of the Spanish Cup against Real Madrid.
“We are focused on the Cup: there will be a Clasico, they will come wanting revenge and we want to show that we can win again. The Camp Nou is supposed to be a pressure cooker.
“I listen very little (to comments from the outside), and we appreciate from the inside. The President appreciates it very much. If the boss is unhappy, what matters is what the outside says.
“Nothing should distract us, tomorrow we can have a double joy: to beat Madrid and reach the final. We are much better than last season.”
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— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) April 4, 2023
Barcelona issued a statement on Monday calling for La Liga President Javier Tebas to step down following alleged false statements in the Negreira case, but Xavi declined to comment on the matter.
“I don’t know him, we said hello two or three times, and I don’t have a clear opinion,” he added.
Barcelona have a marginal 1-0 lead ahead of Wednesday’s game, but Real are still the favourites, Xavi believes: “When we have a two-legged game, I get the feeling it’s very difficult. How long ago did they lose the bipedal tie?
“That’s why for me they are still favorites despite being 0-1. They have more pressure than we do.
Madrid can beat you perfectly. For me, it’s very even, and they have a point that makes them favorites, they are used to coming back from matches.