Roura moves on from El Clasico

Stand-in Barcelona coach Jordi Roura is eager to leave incidents from the El Clasico behind him ahead of their tricky clash against Valencia.

Dani Alves was supposedly subjected to racist chants, while Lionel Messi was alleged to have called Real Madrid assistant Aitor Karanka ‘Mourinho’s puppet’ after the final whistle of the 1-1 draw in the Copa del Rey semi-final first leg on Wednesday.

But Roura refused to comment on the incidents, insisting he is concentrating on Sunday’s encounter against Valencia.

“The team is only focused on Sunday’s match. I will not comment on other issues, I only want to talk about football,” he told reporters.

“The Mestalla has always been a tough place for us to go, particularly in the past four or five years, and they are in good form at the moment.

“The Clasico game won’t affect us, we are focused on Sunday.”

Roura said midfielder Sergio Busquets would be ready for the game, with Barcelona looking to continue their superb La Liga season.

“He had a small problem, but he’s been training normally and he will be available,” Roura said of Busquets.

Barcelona are top of La Liga while Valencia are seventh.