Referee Told To Favour Real Madrid In Upcoming El Clasico

A match-fixing scandal has engulfed the upcoming El Clasico between Real Madrid and Barcelona after an assistant referee scheduled to officiate said he was contacted by the match referee and asked to favour Madrid in the match.

[article_adwert]  According to Cadena COPE (h/t Sport), Per Malyon was asked to favour Real Madrid by the referee, who said he was under pressure from the referees committee, but he refused and was later contacted by Jose Angel Jimenez Munoz de Morales, a member of Spain's Technical Committee of Referees, who threatened his career.

According to Bleachers Report, the linesman says that he received a phonecall from the match official he usually accompanies, telling him that he had received instructions “from someone on the inside”.

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He was allegedly told: “The most convenient plan would be to not allow the match official to take the most difficult decisions in that match, because he will be in the media limelight and it would cause too much controversy; if the referee doesn’t take the decisions, his assistant can adopt those responsibilities.”

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Police have reportedly launched an investigation.

Jimenez meanwhile told the Daily Mirror: “I won’t comment for now. I only have very recently heard about this. I’ll read it and see what is happening but for now I can’t say much more.”

The upcoming El Clasico will be played on November 21 at the Santiago Bernabeu. Barcelona's Lionel Messi is a doubt to play following a knee operation.