Have Barcelona been deprived of their due respect?
The season is almost at an end and unsurprisingly, it has gone very well for both the Spanish football giants – FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. This season, the Catalans managed to secure two of the only domestic cups they take part in, namely the Copa del Rey and La Liga – whereas Los Blancos are favourites against Liverpool in the Champions League final.
Valverde’s Barcelona were in full-swing as they celebrated their league title against Deportivo La Coruna. The best player in the league guaranteed his team the win with a hat-trick – as the match ended 4-2 in Barcelona’s favour. The next fixture saw Real Madrid visit the Camp Nou, and that called for an age-old tradition to be fulfilled. However, Zidane’s side outrightly refused to adhere to tradition and did not offer the champions a guard of honour. And while Sunday’s Clásico was shrouded in controversy due to the decision, Gerard Pique queued staff members to complete the ritual for them as they felt their right needed to be exercised.
Almost every team in the league, and fans across the world, were convinced that Barcelona deserved the recognition they had fought so hard for – and that they had been deprived of something special. Villarreal, being the next team to face Messi and co. after Madrid, confirmed in advance that they will honour the champions in their forthcoming fixture. Not long ago, the roles were reversed, and the Blaugrana stepped above the rivalry and formed the guard of honour for Los Blancos in 2008.
Zinedine Zidane says Real Madrid will not give Barcelona a guard of honour if they win La Liga before El Clasico pic.twitter.com/MLz9rYKIhW
— B/R Football (@brfootball) April 7, 2018
However, the reason presented for Zidane’s decision was Barcelona’s refusal to do the same for them after they had won the Club World Cup. Barça backed their choice by saying they did not participate in the competition and hence, a guard of honour was not deemed necessary. Many fans saw Gerard Pique’s excuse as valid, and they felt Zidane’s reasoning did not justify his team’s actions.
Nevertheless, the drama prior to El Clásico only raised the stakes as the players strived to give fans what they desired. And one would not be wrong in saying that they toppled every expectation as every minute of the game offered terrific entertainment. The match demanded a full attention-span, overwhelming viewers with the shear intensity of its play. For many, the draw was a fair result for both teams given the football on display. There were a number of controversial errors by the referee, with the most notable one being a penalty not given on Marcelo, but even the Brazilain was empathetic towards the referee due to the pressure in such a mammoth encounter.
There will always be a dispute of opinions over whether or not it was unfair for Real Madrid to overrule the precedent, but the fire it fanned will stay ablaze for years to come.