ACCUSATIONS THAT RACIST chanting was aimed at Barcelona star Neymar from a section of the Espanyol crowd have been rejected by the club’s president Joan Collet.
Espanyol earned a 0-0 draw in the derby between the teams on Saturday in front of a boisterous Cornella El Prat, but it was events off the pitch that earned headlines following Saturday’s game.
Brazil international Neymar was reportedly subject to racist chanting in the first half, with former Barca board member Toni Freixa writing on Twitter: “I trust that the racist chants which Neymar was subjected to have been carefully noted in the referee’s report.”
Barca midfielder Andres Iniesta also stated he heard abuse “in one corner, in the first half, from one supporter”.
However, Collet flatly denied the allegations.
“I was there, just like 30,000 people and nothing happened,” he said.
“The whole thing blows up for one shout, but there was nothing generalised, it’s a lie.
It was a high-risk game and there weren’t any incidents. The attitude of the fans was admirable. It was a game we can feel proud about and it makes us very excited about the future.
Collet also hit back at criticism of Espanyol’s perceived aggressive tactics during the encounter.
“It’s a disgrace that the usual suspects here start up the nationalist pro-Barcelona machinery. I’ve not heard anything from the Barca players or the coach, but I have from all the usual suspects,” he added.
“When something happens they bring out the topic of violence and it’s a disgrace. It’s a lie that we were violent. Every time they don’t win it’s the same commentary.
“Only a few see this violence and they try and justify not winning. It was a normal game and I think the referee was spot on and didn’t see any sending-off offences.”
3 years ago when James Ryan was playing in the u20′s world cup I stated he’d be our starting lock for this world cup and our captain for the next. Might of got the captain bit wrong, he could be very well the captain for this world cup.
@Darren Byrne: definitely wont be captain
@Darren Byrne: should be captain. Best & POM shouldn’t be starting and Sexton can lose the head. Warburton captained wales at a WC at 22
@Darren Byrne: James Ryan doesn’t even call lineouts, even Roux was calling lineouts ahead of him during the Six Nations. He does nothing in a leadership capacity for the group.
@Rochelle: apart from lead by example to the much older and experienced players
@Rochelle: Calling line outs takes a while. It’s an art. Regardless, he leads by example and his numbers show that. You want a captain that can inspire lads around you and be calm under chaos.
@Eoin Murphy: A good player does their own job, a leader instructs and makes decisions for the team. Maybe James Ryan should “lead by example” and take on the responsibility of lineout calling since it’s clearly such a problem at the moment?
@Rochelle: First thing is you want a captain to be a player that is a guaranteed starter. Ryan is. If Best plays, I’m happy with him being captain, and personally I really feel Ruddock is an underated player and captain. And while I don’t think Ryan will captain the team, he has captained the u20s before…he doesn’t also need to call lineouts to get the nod!
@Rochelle: Ryan’s 100% a leader because he leads from the front. At his age to do that and never have a bad game is extraordinary. James Ryan makes ‘decisions’ that continuously puts players around him in better positions, in almost every game…for the full 80 minutes. You obviously don’t know what it takes to be a leader if you can’t acknowledge that.
The problem with the lineout is also down to how opponents perceive it as a strength or a weakness and it can become a self fulfilling prophecy! If it’s perceived as an indomitable strength with a strong maul used of it then teams may prefer to a) Keep the ball on the pitch and b) not contest the lineout in order to focus on the defence off the lineout. The problem for Ireland now is that teams can see that we fall apart when lineout is disrupted and that our once strong lineout can be ‘got at’ – that means teams will Target it more which by default means it will come under increasing pressure. That could ultimately work to our advantage if we can start to dominate our own ball again and start challenging opposition lineouts more
@BMJF: your are correct. simply we didn’t put England under pressure on their ball and gave them a free throw and catch every time. They done the opposite.
An awful lot of fantasy stuff going on regarding the captaincy. Best won’t lose his role unless he gets injured. If that were to happen then the captaincy won’t go outside the current leadership group of o mahony, sexton or stander with O mahony probably the next in line. Any other move by schmidt would be relative suicide in maintaining what’s already apparently a very fragile squad harmony.
@Jim Demps:
Sexton:: Jim IMO :::to Joe he is the Captain (and POM is playing badly where Sexton has not played)
@Jim Demps: Sexton’s last game of rugby he captained his side to winning the pro 14 final against Glasgow in Glasgow. The side he led beat what will be the majority of the Scotland side we face in our first game.
If best is stood down than sexton should step up. POM is fighting for form and is under pressure for that 6 shirt from Bierne, stander and Ruddock
@Chris Mc: you do realise that o mahony did the same v effectively half the Scottish team as well v Edinburgh. Sexton hasn’t shown any decent form either this year.
@Jim Demps: Edinburgh is a fair auld drop off from Glasgow. And unless it was on your Xbox I don’t seem to recall Pom captaining any team to win the pro 14
A lot more then POM did ::and you know it !! Love the way you say these sweeping statements “any decent form either this year.” He was on for 20 min V Scotland before he went off and he set up 2 tries :: And boy do we need him more than any other player to play well::: And it is not great to knock him when he is the most important player we have :: and Joe knows that (with joey out )
@Jim Demps: stander is hardly going to be captain, he’s lucky if he’ll get his place in the starting 15
Give Taghag Beirne a start aswell.
@Top Class:
OK but only in the back row