Real Madrid call board meeting to discuss Barcelona's refereeing scandal

MADRID: Real Madrid have called a board meeting for Sunday to discuss alleged attempts by arch rivals Barcelona to influence referees, the European and Spanish soccer champions said on Saturday (Mar 11).

Spanish prosecutors filed a complaint on Friday against Barcelona and two of the LaLiga club's former presidents over alleged payments to a company owned by a senior refereeing official to influence match results.

Barcelona have denied any wrongdoing.

Real Madrid said in a statement its president, Florentino Perez, had convened a board of directors meeting for 12pm (1100 GMT) on Sunday "to decide on the actions that Real Madrid deems appropriate in relation to this matter".

It did not elaborate on the potential actions.

A senior Barcelona official told Reuters on Friday the club had expected the prosecutors' complaint and described it as "nothing more than an absolutely preliminary investigative hypothesis".

The official added the club "will fully cooperate with the investigation by all means necessary" and "reiterates that they have never bought any referee nor have tried to influence any official's decisions".