Barcelona president Joan Gaspart has accused Luis Figo of provoking the crowd trouble that marred Barcelona’s clash with Real Madrid, by waiting too long to take his corners.
‘We’re not the villains here,’ Gaspart said.
‘I don’t like it when people come to our house and provoke us.’
The match was held up for ten minutes when the referees lled the players off the pitch as missiles rained down on former Barcelona player Figo as he prepared to take a corner kick. Among the items thrown were a bottle of whiskey and a pigs head.
Figo spent a while clearing up the debris before taking that was tipped over for another corner by keeper Roberto Bonano. As Figo, he was again bombarded by missiles, at which point, referee Luis Medina Cantalejo intervened and marched the players off.
‘What happened was not worthy of Spanish football,’ Real Madrid’s sporting director Jorge Valdano said afterwards.
‘There were difficult moments out there and we just have to be grateful thatthe match could be finished.
‘It’s not for us to decide if the ground should be closed but Figo taking corners is not a provocation.’
On hearing Gaspart’s comments, Figo suggested the Barcelona president was not being entirely serious.
‘I respect Gaspart for the position he holds but I’m not sure if he’s having a joke with that comment,’ Figo said.
‘There’s no reason to take what he’s saying seriously. He’s not doing a great service to his club.’
