BARCELONA REQUEST TO KEEP PLAYING OLMO AND VICTOR IS REJECTED

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Barcelona's Dani Olmo and Pau Victor will be unable to play for the LaLiga side in the second half of the season, Spanish football authorities said on Saturday after rejecting the club's latest attempt to extend their registrations.

Midfielder Olmo, 26, who helped Spain to European Championship glory last year, has been an integral part of Barcelona's team this season, while forward Victor, 23, has been largely restricted to substitute appearances.

Barca are third in LaLiga, five points behind leaders Real Madrid.

They signed Olmo from RB Leipzig on a six-year deal in August for around 55 million euros ($56.7 million) and Victor in July, but only registered them for the first half of the season due to LaLiga wage cap considerations.

The Spanish football federation (RFEF) and LaLiga said in a joint statement they had rejected a request to register them both for the second half.

"The Monitoring Committee agrees not to grant the prior approval or the definitive licence requested by FC Barcelona for the players Daniel Olmo Carvajal and Pau Victor Delgado," the RFEF said.

Two courts had previously rejected the club's requests.

LaLiga had previously welcomed the legal rulings, saying additional spending was allowed so long-term injuries do not weaken a team but the rule should not be exploited to allow the registration of players whose salaries exceed the limit.

LaLiga had previously welcomed the legal rulings, saying additional spending was allowed so long-term injuries do not weaken a team but the rule should not be exploited to allow the registration of players whose salaries exceed the limit.

The club had managed to register Olmo after long-term injuries kept first-team players out of the squad for months, allowing Barca to allocate a portion of wages to register the player who was joint top scorer at Euro 2024.

Spanish media reported that Barcelona plan to file a complaint to the Spanish government via the Administrative Sports Court (CSD) in a last-ditch attempt to allow the pair to play.

There was no immediate comment from Barcelona.

Olmo and Victor were not named in the squad for Barca's Copa del Rey match against fourth-tier side Barbastro on Saturday.

"Everyone wants Dani Olmo and Pau Victor back," Barcelona coach Hansi Flick told a press conference following his team's 4-0 win .

"We played focused, we played well. I haven't seen the team suffer because of this situation... We have to be professional and accept (it)."

Both players' profiles have been removed from the LaLiga website.

It is not the first time Barca have failed to register a key player. The Catalan let Lionel Messi leave in 2021 even though the Argentine forward wanted to extend his stay at the club where he started his career.

($1 = 0.9701 euros)

- Reuters 

VALENCIA-REAL MADRID AMONG GAMES POSTPONED AMID FATAL FLOODS

Real Madrid's LaLiga match at Valencia on Saturday has been postponed because of the deadly flash floods in Spain.

The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) announced on Thursday that all games this weekend in the Valencian region will be rescheduled as per LaLiga's request.

The Spanish government declared three days of mourning with at least 150 people dead and "many people" missing following the worst natural disaster to hit Spain this century.

Saturday's LaLiga game between Villarreal and Rayo Vallecano and Levante's second division home game against Malaga on Monday have also been postponed.

Valencia's city centre was affected by the flash floods. Alex Juarez/Anadolu via Getty Images

Two games in Liga F have also been cancelled, including Real Madrid's game against Levante.

LaLiga and its clubs pledged on Thursday to help raise funds for the Red Cross to support those affected by the flash floods, publicising a campaign during match broadcasts this weekend and through their social media accounts.

"Spain's professional football joins the condolences and expresses its solidarity with the families of the victims and the missing," LaLiga said in a statement on Thursday.

Real Madrid announced they would also collaborate with the Red Cross and donate €1 million ($1.09 million).

"The Real Madrid Foundation and the Red Cross have today launched a fundraising campaign to support those affected by the storm and the club have decide to support this campaign with a donation of one million euros to help the many families who are in a critical situation and need all our help and solidarity," the Spanish champions said in a statement.

Earlier this week, the RFEF rescheduled Valencia's Copa del Rey match at Parla that was due to be played on Wednesday.

Before Valencia's training session on Wednesday, the squad observed a moment of silence at its training center in honour of the victims. Some of the team's players were absent because of the transportation difficulties caused by the storms.

The club said they joined forces with the Valencia Food Bank, and their stadium became "a deposit for food and basic needs."

"Mestalla will be at the service of the city to cope with the emergency caused by the [floods]."

The death toll was expected to rise as an unknown number of people were still missing. Search efforts were ongoing and some vehicles with bodies were yet to be reached. The aftermath of the floods from late Tuesday to early Wednesday looked eerily similar to the damage left by a hurricane or tsunami, with cars piled up alongside uprooted trees and downed power lines.

LaLiga announced that a minute's silence will be observed ahead of all games to be played this weekend to show respect for the victims of the devastating flash floods.

Madrid are second in LaLiga, six points adrift of Barcelona, who host Espanyol in Sunday's city derby.

Information from The Associated Press contributed to this report.

- Adriana Garcia

GERARD PIQUÉ UNDER INVESTIGATION OVER SAUDI SUPER CUP DEAL

Former Barcelona star Gerard Piqué is under formal investigation by a Madrid court. Jose Manuel Alvarez/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images

 A Spanish judge has placed former Barcelona player Gerard Piqué under official investigation for his alleged involvement in illegal payments in the relocation of Spain's Super Cup to Saudi Arabia.

Judge Delia Rodrigo concluded there were indications of wrongdoing in the deal between Piqué's company Kosmos and the Spanish football federation (RFEF), according to a court document.

According to the court documents, former RFEF president Luis Rubiales, Saudi government-owned Sela Sport Company and Piqué signed an agreement in 2019 in which Piqué's company would receive €40 million as a "success bonus" for the games being held in Saudi Arabia each year.

"The facts under investigation in the present proceedings originate from possible illegalities with criminal implications in contracting or agreements," Rodrigo wrote.

Piqué did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The court has been investigating since June 2022 whether Rubiales committed a crime of improper management when the RFEF agreed with Piqué's Kosmos firm to move the tournament.

In March, police searched the RFEF's headquarters and an apartment belonging to Rubiales and arrested seven people in a corruption probe over the multimillion-euro deal.

Rubiales, who has denied any wrongdoing, was told he was a suspect in the probe by police in April after returning from spending two months in the Dominican Republic on what he described as a business trip.

Piqué, who played for Barcelona in Super Cup matches in Saudi Arabia, was originally awarded an annual payment of $4 million ($4.33 million) over six years. This was later extended by four years.

Pedro Rocha, who at the time was head of the RFEF's economic department, failed to call a meeting of the economic commission as he should have done to analyse the four-year extension of the deal.

Rocha was elected president of the RFEF last month despite being put under investigation after testifying as a witness in court and saying he had no knowledge of or responsibility for any of the alleged crimes being investigated in the case.

- Reuters 

REAL MADRID FILES COMPLAINT TO PROSECUTOR AND SOCCER FEDERATION AFTER MORE FAN ABUSE OF VINICIUS

AP Photo

 MADRID (AP) — Real Madrid filed a new complaint with Spanish state prosecutors on Monday following reports of more hate chants aimed at forward Vinícius Júnior in the Spanish league.

The club also filed a complaint with the Spanish Football Federation disciplinary committee against the referee of Saturday's match at Osasuna for not including in his match report the alleged “Die, Vinícius” chants by local fans at El Sadar Stadium.

Madrid called the match report by referee Juan Martínez Munuera “negligent.”

“The official omitted, in voluntary and deliberate fashion, the insults and humiliating chants directed towards our player on a repeated basis, despite his attention being drawn to them continually by our players as they were happening,” Madrid said in a statement late Monday.

Madrid last week asked prosecutors to investigate reported racist chants targeting the Brazil international outside the stadiums of Atletico Madrid and Barcelona before their Champions League games.

Madrid has asked prosecutors to try to “identify the perpetrators of the abuse” against its player.

“Real Madrid once again condemns these violent attacks of racism, discrimination and hate and demands that measures finally be taken in order to eradicate the violence to which our player Vinícius Júnior has been subjected,” the club said.

On Thursday, Vinícius retweeted a video that showed Atletico fans jumping and chanting “Vinícius chimpanzee” before the team played Inter Milan on Wednesday.

There were also reports of hate chants against Vinícius before the Barcelona-Napoli match on Tuesday, when Barcelona fans also allegedly chanted “Die, Vinícius” before the team’s 3-1 win.

Vinícius, who is Black, has been relentlessly targeted by racist slurs during away games in Spain, especially in the last two seasons.

The Spanish league has also reported some of the abuse aimed at Vinícius to Spanish prosecutors.

In 2023, Atletico fans hanged an effigy of Vinícius from a bridge in Madrid before a city derby. Prosecutors sought four-year prison sentences for the four hardcore fans accused by authorities of committing the act.

- TALES AZZONI

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

BELLINGHAM GETS TWO-GAME LALIGA BAN FOR 'DISRESPECTING' TEF

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 Jude Bellingham has been banned for two LaLiga games for "contemptuous or disrespectful attitudes towards a referee" after he received a red card in the aftermath of Real Madrid's controversial 2-2 draw at Valencia, Spain's competition committee confirmed on Wednesday.

The England international was shown a red card for arguing with referee Jesús Gil Manzano, who had already blown his whistle moments before Bellingham scored what would have been a game-winning header.

The referee's postmatch report said Bellingham had shown an "aggressive attitude" and allegedly shouted "It's a f---ing goal" repeatedly.

The Spanish Football Federation's Disciplinary Committee handed Bellingham a two-game ban -- the minimum possible for the offence, under its rules -- on Wednesday, for what it called "attitudes of disrespect or a lack of consideration towards the referee," with a €700 fine for the club, and €600 for the player.

In evidence to the committee, Madrid argued that Bellingham had not displayed an aggressive attitude, said that the player had only spoken once to the referee, and denied that his words were offensive or insulting.

The committee found that the club had not proven their case beyond doubt based on the evidence presented, and so the body consequently had to accept the referee's interpretation of Bellingham's conduct.

Bellingham will miss Madrid's LaLiga games against Celta Vigo on Sunday and Osasuna on March 16, returning for their match with Athletic Club on March 31.

He is set to feature for Madrid in the Champions League round of 16 on Wednesday, as they host RB Leipzig in the second leg at the Bernabéu.

Bellingham is also one yellow card away from a possible one-match suspension in the Champions League after picking up two already this season.

- Alex Kirkland and Rodrigo Faez

SPAIN'S EX-FA CHIEF RUBIALES GETS THREE-YEAR BAN OVER KISS SCANDAL

Reuters 

Luis Rubiales, the former president of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) who faces accusations of sexual assault in Spain, has been banned from all football-related activities for three years, FIFA said on Monday.

World soccer's governing body initially suspended Rubiales for three months following the allegedly non-consensual kiss he gave to Spain player Jenni Hermoso after the Women's World Cup final on Aug. 20.

"The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has banned Luis Rubiales ... from all football-related activities at national and international levels for three years, having found that he acted in breach of article 13 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code," FIFA said in a statement.

Rubiales' lawyers declined to comment on the decision.

ARCHIVE PARITY

The "Me Too" moment in Spanish football had been building for nearly a decade as female players tried to combat sexism and achieve parity with their male peers.

That included two dressing-room rebellions that ended the international careers of several players.

They finally accomplished change thanks to an "exhausting" month-long standoff that ended in September when the RFEF agreed to make "immediate and profound changes" to its structure, the players said.

FIFA's decision means Rubiales, 46, can no longer run for the RFEF presidency or General Assembly under Spain's new electoral regime for sports federations presented last month by the country's National Sports Council (CSD).

CSD rules make ineligible anyone who has been sentenced by the disciplinary bodies of national or international federations or sports tribunals.

Rubiales resigned in September saying his position at the RFEF had become untenable. He had initially vowed not to stand down despite pressure from players, politicians and women's groups.

During his testimony to the court in the assault case, Rubiales denied Hermoso's accusations, according to the prosecutor's office. Rubiales has repeatedly said the kiss was consensual, while Hermoso says it was forced on her.

The investigating judge, who imposed a restraining order to prevent Rubiales from approaching Hermoso, also decided to expand the scope of the probe to include Jorge Vilda, the Spain squad's former coach who was sacked by interim RFEF president Pedro Rocha 10 days after FIFA suspended Rubiales from his post.

The coach was widely criticised for repeatedly applauding Rubiales during an emergency RFEF assembly in which the latter railed against "false feminism" and vowed not to resign.

"Mr Rubiales has been notified of the terms of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee’s decision today," FIFA said. "The decision remains subject to a possible appeal before the FIFA Appeal Committee."

- Fernando Kallas

SPANISH FEDERATION CHIEF SAYS HE WON'T RESIGN

Spanish football federation (RFEF) President Luis Rubiales refused to step down on Friday in the aftermath of his unsolicited kiss on the mouth of player Jenni Hermoso during celebrations after Spain's Women's World Cup victory.

The incident sparked outrage within and outside Spain, with many, including government ministers, players and coaches, demanding his resignation and forcing the federation to call an emergency assembly on Friday, where Rubiales said the kiss was consensual and he was the victim of 'social assassination'.

SPANISH FEDERATION CHIEF TO QUIT OVER KISS SCANDAL - REPORT

Reuters

Spanish football federation (RFEF) President Luis Rubiales plans to resign on Friday after FIFA opened disciplinary proceedings against him over his unsolicited kiss on the mouth of player Jenni Hermoso during celebrations after Spain's Women's World Cup victory, Cadena Ser radio reported on Thursday.

Rubiales has been under fire after kissing Hermoso on the lips while handing the team their medals after they beat England 1-0 in the final in Sydney on Sunday.

The incident sparked outrage within and outside Spain, with many, including government ministers, demanding his resignation.