Barcelona coach Luis Enrique has urged for a full investigation into claims by an anonymous assistant referee that he was pressured to favor Barcelona in a match against Real Madrid in November's El Clasico.
The game, which is the most important in Spanish sport and considered one of the world's biggest football matches, is due to take place at Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on Nov. 21.
"It isn't nice, so I hope it's fully investigated to avoid any risk to our football," Barca boss Enrique said.
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The unnamed official made the claims in a document presented to anti-corruption authorities in Spain. However, the accusations have been met with some skepticism in Spain due to its anonymous nature and the fact the referee for the match in question has yet to be chosen by the referee's committee.
"It is news that continues to surprise us and isn't nice to see, so I hope it is fully investigated to avoid any risk to our football," Enrique said on Saturday.
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Real Madrid coach Rafael Benitez dismissed the claims as "not serious" on Friday, but Enrique insisted it wouldn't shock him to find out the accusation is true.
He added: "Referees already have a difficult enough job without adding more fuel to the fire. What seems logical and licit to me is that it is fully investigated to see if it is true or it is something that someone has invented.
"In this country I believe anything can happen."
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