Barcelona on Thursday warned their great rivals Real Madrid they would be forced to sever ties between the clubs if Real continue to "cross the line" of sportsmanship. "Real Madrid and FC Barcelona are ancient institutions with many supporters and aficionados," said Barca president Sandro Rosell during a press conference.
"(But if) the line is crossed, we would be forced to break off our institutional relations, which we do not wish to do in any form." Rosell heralded "the best season in the history of the club," at the end of a campaign in which Barca won their third successive Spanish league title and defeated Manchester United in the Champions League final.
He then turned his attention to Real, and particularly the spiky exchanges between the clubs that accompanied their series of four matches in the space of 18 days in April and May. "Real Madrid crossed the line of acceptable sporting rivalry by making accusations against our club without any foundation," he said. "The rivalry will continue next season but we will not allow them to go beyond the bounds of sportsmanship."
Rosell referred to "numerous provocations" stemming from the Madrid-based press and from both the club itself and the Real coach, Jose Mourinho. Mourinho was handed a five-game ban by UEFA after he made allegations of favouritism towards Barcelona following Real's 2-0 defeat in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final tie. The Portuguese's appeal against the sanction will be heard on July 29. The radio station Cadena Cope also made doping allegations against the Catalan club, drawing attention to the "suspicious reputation" of some of its medical staff.
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