A quiet weekend to open the year, with officials obviously content and jolly after a merry Christmas holiday. Only 44 yellow cards and three reds, which for Spain was one of the lowest tallies of the season. True to form the Barcelona press have given their own award for the worse performance of the week to the referee who in their opinion helped Real Madrid to victory, Pino Zamorano, partly for his sending-off of Valencia's Aimar for two stringent yellow cards, and also because he missed a foul on Carew before Madrid's third goal and two apparent penalty decisions. Valencia's manager Rafa Benítez complained that the referee had allowed himself to be influenced by the crowd, particularly in the bookings for Aimar, but whether his decisions changed the course of the game is a point which will no doubt be discussed in bars throughout the country for many hours this week. (06.01.03)