Spanish police are investigating claims from an assistant referee that he was pressured to benefit Real Madrid in their upcoming Clasico with Barcelona on November 21.Spanish newspaperL'Esportiu (h/t Sport) reported the claims, but the linesman in question has not been named.Continue for updates.Official 'Scared' of RepercussionsThursday, Oct. 22The lawyer who presented the case to the police,Jacinto Vicente, has explained how he was contacted by the pressured official, perSport'sAlbert Masnou:One person let me know about a referee that had a problem and wanted to talk with me. It's deducible that he is not from Barcelona (because if he was he would not have been chosen for the game). For a professional reason I had to go to Barcelona, where I met with him. He explained everything that had occurred and wanted to go public with the pressure being put on him because it's the only way to clean up Spanish football and the only way to change a closed system.I advised him that it was not the best solution to publish it, but that the normal thing to do would be to report it to the police. It scared him because he didn't want his name to come out. If it does, he could have a serious professional problem.I told him that he should speak with the police first and the prosecution. On October 19 I got in contact with the police and the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor began investigating the case.According toEd Malyonin theMirror, the assistant claims to have been instructed by the referee for the Clasico to favour Real, and when he refused, he reportedly received a phone callfrom the Spanish federation threatening his career.Malyonexplained the reason for the assistant being targeted is because they tend to draw less scrutiny for their decisions during a match than the on-pitch referee.Spanish outletCadena COPE (h/tSport) reported suggestions thatJose Angel Jimenez Munoz de Morales, a member of Spain's Technical Committee of Referees, was the person allegedlypressuringthe official.Given that the Clasico is, by some distance, the most high-profile fixture in Spanish football, it is unsurprising that the assistant in question feared his name being revealed.Real's clashes with Barca are invariably heated affairstheir last six La Liga meetings have seen 46 yellow cards and two red cards issued.Controversy reigns when the pair come together, and every decision made by the referees is scrutinised and contested by both sides.November's clash at the Bernabeu will be no different. The two sides are tied on 18 points after eight games, and the results from the two respective Clasicos this season will have a major bearing on the outcome of the La Liga title race.The latest accusations are likely to only increase the tension between the two clubs in the lead-up to their match in the Spanish top flight.
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