Real Madrid TV, the unofficial mouthpiece of the club, claim there will be 17 referees against Jose Mourinho’s men when they face Barcelona in El Clasico on Sunday.

The sides meet at Camp Nou after another hugely controversial weekend in La Liga with both clubs accused of benefitting from favourable refereeing decisions.

Madrid beat Sevilla 4-1 but were fortunate referee Mateo Busquets Ferrer did not see a first-half incident in which midfielder Arda Guler elbowed the visitors’ Peque Fernandez in the face.

Guler went on to score the opener with Sevilla boss Luis Garcia Plaza claiming afterwards the officials opted not to intervene to enable Madrid to keep within touching distance of leaders Barca ahead of their eagerly anticipated meeting.

Barcelona influenced the referee, say Real Madrid TV

Barca were also caught in a storm 24 hours earlier, during their 5-2 win at Real Betis. The home side had a goal ruled out after Cucho Hernandez was deemed to have handled the ball before Giovani Lo Celso smashed home a brilliant volley.

Referee Ricardo de Burgos was initially unaware of Hernandez’s misdemeanour but the clamour from the Barca players – led by Pedri and Lamine Yamal – persuaded him to have a conversation with the VAR and the goal was overturned.

That has prompted RMTV to claim the on-field official was influenced by the Barca players.

They claimed on Tuesday: “Real Madrid will have to face 17 referees in the Clasico: the three on the field, the fourth referee, the VAR and his assistant, in addition to the eleven players of Barcelona, who are also referees. Against 17 referees it is very complicated. 

“The Barça players now decide which plays are reviewed by the VAR and which are not, because they are also referees. It’s outrageous. In any other league it would have consequences. Sunday is very complicated because of the issues we all know.”

Real Madrid TV brush off accusations of Guler elbow

Unsurprisingly, RMTV had a different take on the Guler case than most neutral observers and dismissed theories that there weren’t enough camera shots taken of the incident which occurred well away from the ball.

They added: “[We are] against everything and against everyone. Against a regime and a media system in which there are synchronized opinions that only talk about an inconclusive play of Güler and Peque, when the player was also being repeatedly grabbed. 

“Now they say that images are missing, when on RMTV we have been denouncing for years that there are shots that are not shown in the broadcasts and they called us conspiratorial. An inconclusive play is enough for everything to change.”

Both teams face Champions League games before they lock horns at the weekend.

Barca face two-time defending champions Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday before Madrid host RB Leipzig 24 hours later.