Espanyol President Joan Collet spoke of a pro-Barcelona campaign as he accused the club of trying “to influence the referee” for Wednesday’s Copa del Rey tie.
Claudio Bravo led calls that Espanyol were excessive in their approach during the Catalan derby, which ended 0-0, on Saturday, but Collet viewed Barcas protestations as merely another attempt “to rev up the national Barcelona machine”.
“It’s a disgrace that the usual suspects are trying to rev up the national Barcelona machine,” he said after the game.
“What they want to do is to influence the referee for the cup game [on Wednesday] and have two of our players sent off in the first 20 minutes.
“[On claims of racist abuse towards Neymar], it’s a lie.
“The fans’ behaviour was faultless. They should leave us alone.”
