The controversy of the ‘dictator Franco’ between Real Madrid and Barcelona
Spain’s two biggest clubs, Real Madrid and Barcelona, accused each other of being “the lucrative club of the era of dictator Francisco Franco.”
The “regime-club debate” between the two clubs began when the president of the Barcelona Club, Joan Laporta, accused Real Madrid yesterday at a press conference that Barcelona paid a company to obtain information about the referees, which was called the “Negreira incident”.
Defining Real Madrid as “the club of the regime”, in reference to the time of the Franco dictator, Laporta said: “Everyone knows that the club that has historically benefited the most from refereeing errors has been Real Madrid. It is the club of the regime. For 70 years they have been presidents of referees, former Real Madrid players, players or directors. There were times when they did it all at once. For 70 years they appointed referees to deliver justice. It is an unprecedented cynicism that, at the height of from our club, Madrid appears and claims to have suffered a sporting injury. I hope this case makes them look ridiculous.” He had made a statement.
RESPONSE FROM REAL MADRID
The response to these words from Laporta was given in the broadcast made by Real Madrid TV.
“Who was the club of the regime?” Archival footage and newspaper clippings of the Barcelona Club, which took place during the reign of dictator Francisco Franco, who ruled Spain between 1936 and 1975, were used in the post.
It was emphasized in the broadcast that Barcelona’s stadium, the Camp Nou, was inaugurated by José Solís Ruiz, the Franco-era minister, that Club Barcelona received a gold badge from Franco and that in 1965 Barcelona declared Frank honorary member. He allegedly saved his club from bankruptcy three times.
— Real Madrid CF (@realmadrid) April 17, 2023
It was also recalled that Barcelona won 8 league championships and 9 Major General Cups (now Copa del Rey) during the Franco era.
It was also denounced in the broadcast that the Real Madrid Club waited 15 years for the league championship under Franco, that it was destroyed during the Civil War, that its players were murdered, detained and deported.
In Spain, the sports press commented that “the fight against the Francoist club will harm the two great clubs in the country.”