Soldado attacks Real Madrid over referee performance

The striker was on the receiving end of several contentious offside calls and feels Blancos' comments in the media before the game played a significant role in proceedings

Valencia's Roberto Soldado has blamed Real Madrid for what he calls "wrong" decisions made by officials in their 2-0 Copa del Rey quarter-final defeat on Tuesday night.

The Spain international was adjudged to have been offside on a number of occasions when replays suggested otherwise.

Soldado believes that comments from the club leading up to the game were detrimental to the officials’ performances at the Santiago Bernabeu, and said Jose Mourinho’s side have an unfair influence on the Spanish game.

"It's difficult to come to the Bernabeu and see all those mistakes made by referees and linesmen," Soldado complained to reporters after the first-leg defeat.

"In Valencia we have been silent [while Madrid complained]. They complain a lot about the referees and there is the result.

"Referees can be wrong once, but should not be so much [as tonight]. And it makes you wonder. They don’t want to withstand the pressure of being wrong against Real Madrid.

"If it has served them to talk all this week then I think there are institutes that should control their statements. Statements that come from Real Madrid nowadays do not benefit the sport."

The two teams meet again for the second-leg of the quarter-final at Mestalla on January 20.