Zinedine Zidane dismisses referee conspiracy theories ahead of El Clasico

Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane has played down talk surrounding preferential refereeing ahead of Saturday's El Clasico showdown with Barcelona. 

The Frenchman dismissed claims that match official Carlos Clos Gomez favours the Catalan outfit and insisted his focus is purely on the game itself. 

The referee has a history of being associated with an anti-Madrid bias with former manager Jose Mourinho famously claiming he made '13 mistakes' in the 1-0 victory over Sevilla back in December 2010. 

'I do not believe in claims that any referee favours one club or another,' Zidane said during Tuesday's press conference. 

'I just think it will be a great game, with the referee doing his best. 'I am not interested in such conspiracy theories. I am not worried. I only want to think about the match. 

'The people want to see a great game on Saturday with a great referee who wants to do things well.'