Villarreal say Madrid's gifts to referee Gil Manzano were not appropriate
A statement signed by president Fernando Roig was released by the club on Tuesday night
Villarreal have released a statement following events which took place during and after their game against Real Madrid on Sunday.
Referee Jesus Gil Manzano gave a second half penalty to Madrid and his honesty has since been called into question, while his car was graffitied after the game.
President Fernando Roig also spoke of the fact Gil Manzano left the stadium with a Real Madrid bag -- a gift from Los Blancos -- and Villarreal have refereed to all those matters in their statement.
While offering their support for all referees, the Spanish club did say the delivery of gifts to officials is "not appropriate".
A statement signed by Roig read: "After the controversy which followed the La Liga game against Real Madrid, Villarreal would like to communicate the following:
"1. Villarreal want to manifest their absolute support and respect for referees as a collective. We have always valued and defended the honest and independence of the referees and we will continue to do so.
"2. Villarreal understand the difficult task referees have and accept that their successes and their errors are part of the sporting spectacle, as are those made by players and managers during a football game.
"3. Villarreal have complete confidence in the professionalism, integrity and loyalty of referees as a collective and have never put into doubt nor insinuated the opposite. However, with the objective of total transparency and following the rules laid out by La Liga for all clubs, we do not consider the delivery of presents to referees after a match appropriate.
"4. Villarreal ask Sunday’s refereeing team, led by Jesus Gil Manzano, for forgiveness for the message they found on their vehicles when they left the stadium."
