FC Barcelona News: 5 March 2012; Refereeing Technical Committee Want Pique Punished, Real Madrid Restore Lead

La Liga's Refereeing Technical Committee calls for Pique punishment - Goal.com
The 25-year-old defender vented his frustration for his red card in Saturday's 3-1 victory against Sporting Gijon and went as far as to claim that his sending off had been 'premeditated' by the referee. "Pique's comments are unfortunate and very serious," Arminio told Radio Nacional. "They make your blood boil, sportsmen must respect each other. "His comments affect the state of refereeing and we will obviously report him."

Dani Alves: Pique right to be angry over red card - Goal.com
The Spain international was enraged by his sending off and had to be restrained by Dani Alves, who admitted afterwards he could understand his colleague's frustration. "Talking about the referees is a lost cause," the Brazil international said on the club's official website. "[But] Gerard Pique has his reasons to be angry."

Xavi, the passing king | FC Barcelona
Xavi Hernandez is the passing king of the leading European football leagues – England, Italy, Germany, France and Spain – with 1553 completed passes in the opponents' half. As well as Xavi, the top five in this particular ranking feature Leo Messi (1351 passes), Xabi Alonso (1271), Dani Alves (1215) and Mikel Arteta (1207). That makes three out of five for Barça.

Barça v Sporting: Match Stats | FC Barcelona
A personal league scoring record for Xavi, a 48th consecutive league win for Iniesta and no fewer than 14 different Barça players on the score sheet so far this season – just some of the stats from this Saturday’s win.

Keita: "My football is about working hard and helping my teammates" | FC Barcelona
Seydou Keita, one of the stand-out players against Sporting Gijón, sat down with Barça TV’s El Marcador to talk about yesterday’s match. The Mali international said that he’s only focusing on the team instead of his individual performances. "If I score, I’m happy, but my football is about working and helping my teammates. Winning three points is always the most important thing, because we always have to win."

Recreativo – Barça B: The Azulgranas earn a valuable point (0-0) | FC Barcelona
The team led by Eusebio Sacristán were not able to take the three points from Huelva but they did secure a notable draw that breaks their poor run of results away from the Miniestadi. The Azulgrana reserve side is a bit unlucky away from home, they haven’t won outside of Barcelona since November 19th.

Fernando Alonso: "Watching this Barça play is a pleasure" | FC Barcelona
Fernando Alonso, who is in Barcelona as he prepares for the new Formula 1™ World Championship, watched the match between FC Barcelona and Sporting at the Camp Nou. "Even though I’m more of an Oviedo fan than a Sporting supporter, and more an a Real Madrid man than a Barça follower, I love football and watching this current Barça side in one of the world’s best stadiums is a pleasure."

London calling - but Chelsea talk is premature as Jose Mourinho still has unfinished business at Real Madrid - Goal.com
Many of the senior stars at Chelsea remain in contact with Mourinho and, when the squad took in a recent Clasico clash between Madrid and Barcelona on television in January and Villas-Boas celebrated a goal scored by the Catalan club, several players reportedly texted Jose to tell him of their disapproval.

Mourinho would reject England job offer - report - Goal.com
Jose Mourinho will reject any job offer from the Football Association regarding the England manager’s vacancy. "There is no way Jose will coach England," a source close to the Portuguese told The Sunday Times. "He loves the football in England but there is no chance of this at all. What he wants is a club."

Five-star Real thump Espanyol - Yahoo! Eurosport
Real Madrid roared to a 5-0 victory over mid-table Espanyol at the Bernabeu to restore their lead at the top of La Liga to 10 points. First-half goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Sami Khedira were followed up after the break by one for Kaka and a Gonzalo Higuain brace as the league leaders ran riot over the local rivals of their nearest title challengers, and the current holders, Barcelona.

Susaeta brace claims Basque derby honours - Yahoo! Eurosport
Two goals from Susaeta handed Athletic Bilbao a 2-0 win at home to local rivals Real Sociedad and a return to fourth place in La Liga. The lively midfielder converted Andoni Iraola's low cross at the far post in the 24th minute to give the home side the advantage in a hard-fought and sometimes scrappy affair, littered with individual battles and plenty of yellow cards.