Arbeloa Responds Elegantly to Joan Laporta’s Attacks on Real Madrid Ahead of the Champions League

The Real Madrid coach, after being asked about the relationship between his team and the refereeing, deflected the question and addressed Laporta

The press conference before tomorrow's match

Álvaro Arbeloa spoke about tomorrow's match against Benfica in the Champions League return leg. The Real Madrid coach addressed the Prestianni issue and said it was an "opportunity to strike a blow against racism."

Real Madrid heads into that Champions League night with a one-goal advantage over their Portuguese counterpart. When asked about the coach's expectations against Benfica, Arbeloa replied that he would expect to see a team very similar to the one they faced away in the first match of this series: "That's what I want and wish for. It will be a very special match, a great Champions night at the Bernabéu, knowing the importance of the fans in this type of match. "And thinking about advancing and winning," said the relatively new Merengue coach.

Dart against Laporta

Arbeloa also directly targeted Laporta when asked about refereeing and his relationship with Real Madrid, "I won't comment on the words of candidate Laporta. For me, the biggest scandal is that the 'Negreira case' remains unresolved," he said in response to the question, referring to the corruption case "Negreira," an investigation carried out by the Spanish Tax Agency to investigate a sports corruption scheme involving FC Barcelona and José María Enríquez Negreira, a former Spanish football referee and vise president of the Technical Committee of Referees from March 15, 1993, until 2018.

The second-leg

Real Madrid will host Benfica at home after winning one to zero in the first leg and will seek to seal the victory, while the Portuguese team, without their coach or their forward Prestianni, will try to overturn this result at the Bernabéu.