Xavi Hernandez says he didn’t like the Barcelona board member’s post that attacked Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior.
The deputy spokesman of the Catalans’ board Mikel Camps recently caused quite a stir on social media after posting a controversial tweet about Vinicius.
Camps attacked the Brazilian for his showboating against Braga on Tuesday and also referred to the racist incidents against the player.
He wrote: “It’s not racism – he deserves a slap for being a clown and a joker. What do these unnecessary and meaningless bicycles represent in the centre of the field?”
Barcelona boss Xavi condemned the current state of tension between the two clubs ahead of Saturday’s El Clasico (h/t The Athletic).
“If he deleted the tweet… I’ll stay with that,” Xavi said. “But I don’t like anything that generates tension ahead of a game like this. I don’t like the tweet – I don’t like to see referees being pressured.
“I’d love to get into a Clasico with the biggest respect among clubs, even with us admiring each other. Not this current state.”
According to El Chiringuito, Madrid president Florentino Perez will not attend the upcoming El Clasico because of the controversial post.
Xavi admitted he was disappointed with how the situation is unfolding.
“Yes (there’s too much tension generated), but if you ask me about that (Florentino attending) it’s all even worse”, he added. “It’s not my duty to answer about this.”
Barcelona vice president Rafael Yuste also condemned Camps’ questionable tweet, insisting such behaviour would not be repeated.
Yuste told Movistar: “Even if it was a lapse, it is a bad comment to make. It was a huge mistake. If Vinicius is listening to me, I can tell him this is not going to happen again.”
Saturday’s El Clasico will be played with tensions between the two clubs high following the Negreira case.
The Blaugrana are facing a UEFA investigation over charges of making payments to the then-vice-president of Spanish football’s refereeing committee, Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira.
Joan Laporta attacked Madrid in April, saying Los Blancos had been favoured by arbitration decisions because of their links with the former Spanish dictator Francisco Franco.
That prompted Madrid to post a video detailing the Blaugrana’s connections with Franco.
