DANI OLMO SAGA: BARCELONA'S HANS FLICK CONFIDENT OF REGISTRATION

Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said he remains confident that Dani Olmo and Pau Víctor will be able to play for the club again this season.

LaLiga and the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) announced Saturday they had rejected Barça's request to re-register the duo after the Catalan club missed a Dec. 31 deadline to prove they were compliant with the league's financial fair play (FFP) rules.

Olmo, a €60 million ($61.9m) summer signing from RB Leipzig, has a clause in his contract which would allow him to leave for free if he remains unregistered for the second half of the season, but Flick says the Spain international is committed to Barça.

"I have the confidence that the club will do it," Flick said in a news conference after Saturday's 4-0 Copa del Rey win at Barbastro, a match which Olmo and Víctor were both forced to miss.

"This morning I spoke with Dani and Dani wants to play for Barça. We need him and also Pau Víctor. They are very good players. We need both of them. We have to wait. This is the only thing we can do now."

A brace from Robert Lewandowski and goals from Eric García and Pablo Torre helped Barça book their place in the Copa round of 16, with Flick insisting the drama around Olmo and Víctor will not affect the team.

Dani Olmo would be available to leave for free if he remains unregistered. Getty Images

"I think everyone wants that both of them are back because they are important players for our offence," he added.

"Today we played very focused. We played like we want. There was nothing to see or to feel that the team suffered about that. We are professional, we have to play and the team did really good."

Defender Ronald Araújo, who made his first appearance of the season against Barbastro, also expressed his desire for Barça to find a fix to the Olmo and Víctor situation as soon as possible.

"It's left a bad taste because they are our teammates," he told reporters. "We hope the club can resolve the issue. Meanwhile, we now have to turn our attention to Wednesday's Supercopa [semifinal] against Athletic Club."

Araújo had not played since injuring his hamstring representing Uruguay at the Copa América last July, but he managed to complete 90 minutes on Saturday.

"I'm really happy to win the game, but also on a personal level to be back and play 90 minutes," he added.

"I didn't know if I could play the whole match. The coach was asking me if I felt OK [to continue] and I did. It's important to build up minutes. I'm delighted."

Flick said Lamine Yamal should also have recovered from an ankle injury to feature in the Supercopa next week, while Raphinha will travel to Saudi Arabia with the squad despite missing the Barbastro game with a "small problem."

Barça meet Athletic in Jeddah on Wednesday, with the winners facing either Real Madrid or Mallorca in the final on Jan. 12.

- Sam Marsden and Moises Llorens

RFEF TO PROBE REAL MADRID REF CLIPS AFTER SEVILLA COMPLAINT

Vinícius Júnior argues with the referee during Real Madrid's draw with Valencia last Saturday. Photo by Jose Hernandez/Anadolu via Getty Images

 The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has opened an investigation into Real Madrid TV's broadcasting of videos criticising referees ahead of games, Sevilla said on Thursday.

Sevilla filed a complaint on Feb. 24 before the two clubs met in LaLiga at the Bernabéu, claiming Real Madrid TV had undertaken a "campaign of persecution and harassment" against the referees due to take charge of the match.

Madrid's club television channel has regularly broadcast criticism of referees and their decisions before and after matches this season.

"The Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), via its Judges and Disciplinary Committee, has informed us that they have opened an investigation into Real Madrid, following our complaint of the videos broadcast by Real Madrid TV in the build-up to games," Sevilla said in a statement on Thursday.

"Ahead of our match at the Santiago Bernabéu, Real Madrid TV released a video scrutinising referees Isidro Díaz de Mera and Pablo González Fuertes, the referee and VAR respectively chosen for the match.

"The club decided to take action in light of the fact that these practices, which have been a recurring theme in recent times, including before a league meeting earlier this season between the two teams, are seriously damaging to Spanish football and call the integrity of the competition and its officiating body into question.

"Furthermore, above all, this malpractice seeks to influence individual matchday referees, as the videos attempt to create an image of lack of professionalism and anti-Madrid bias, right before fixtures are scheduled to be played. This has major repercussions for matches played at the Santiago Bernabéu, as tens of thousands of Madrid fans arrive convinced that an anti-Madrid bias exists amongst referees, which increases tension significantly and creates an unfair level of pressure on them."

Sevilla are the first club to register a formal complaint over Real Madrid TV's videos, although others have also expressed their unhappiness at the practice, accusing Madrid of seeking to influence officials.

Barcelona president Joan Laporta described Real Madrid TV's videos as "shameful" in an interview with Catalan radio station RAC1 last month, calling on the RFEF to "get involved" in the matter.

Barca coach Xavi Hernandez agreed, claiming that "[the videos] influence the competition completely, week after week."

Luis Media Cantalejo, the head of Spain's refereeing body, has complained that Real Madrid TV are "putting pressure" on referees.

"There's no sport, no team in the world that does this," he told COPE radio. "What's happening with this TV channel has never happened anywhere else. What they're doing seems absolutely negative to me. I've never seen it in 40 years of refereeing."

The latest incident that left Madrid unhappy with a official's decision-making came in their 2-2 draw at Valencia on Saturday in LaLiga, when referee Jesus Gil Manzano blew the full-time whistle seconds before Jude Bellingham had the ball in the net for what have been the winning goal.

Coach Carlo Ancelotti, who has defended Real Madrid TV's videos as "freedom of expression," called the decision "unpredecented."

In a speech to the club's AGM last year, Madrid president Florentino Perez called for government intervention in Spain's refereeing body, saying "urgent" reforms were needed to safeguard "the well-being of Spanish football."

- Alex Kirkland and Rodrigo Faez

SPANISH SOCCER FEDERATION TO HOLD URGENT MEETING OVER KISS SCANDAL

Reuters 

Spain's soccer federation will hold an urgent meeting on Monday as its president, Luis Rubiales, faces a FIFA suspension and a storm of criticism over allegations he gave a player an unwanted kiss on the lips after Spain won the Women's World Cup.

Rubiales has refused to resign over the incident with player Jenni Hermoso last Sunday in Sydney, saying the kiss was consensual. Players and a string of coaches on the women's squad are demanding he go, and the government also wants him out.

The Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has called regional federations to the "extraordinary and urgent" meeting "to evaluate the situation in which the federation finds itself" following Rubiales' suspension, a RFEF spokesperson said on Sunday.

SOCCER'S LEADING BODY FIFA SUSPENDS SPANISH SOCCER CHIEF OVER KISS

Reuters 

Soccer's world governing body FIFA suspended Spanish federation chief Luis Rubiales from all football-related activities for three months on Saturday as it investigates allegations he gave a player an unwanted kiss on the lips after Spain's women won the World Cup.

FIFA had opened disciplinary proceedings against Rubiales two days ago over the incident with player Jenni Hermoso last Sunday in Sydney that has caused an uproar among players and fans. Rubiales' suspension from national and international activities takes immediate effect, it said on Saturday.

Rubiales said he would use the probe to show his innocence.