Barcelona asks court to act against Spanish league president

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) - Barcelona is asking a sports tribunal to consider sanctioning the Spanish federation and the president of the Spanish league after they condemned a goal celebration and accused players of provoking rival fans.

The club said Thursday it has formally requested the Administrative Court of Sport open disciplinary proceedings against Javier Tebas and members of the federation's competition committee after their "unacceptable public declarations and assessments" about Barcelona players.

The competition committee fined Valencia 1,500 euros ($1,600) on Wednesday after water bottles were thrown at Barcelona players celebrating a late winner in a Spanish league match on Saturday in Valencia.

It also condemned the attitude of the players by saying they shouldn't have turned to the stands to celebrate and that they exaggerated after some of them were hit by one of the bottles. It said their actions exposed them to ridicule.

Barcelona said the committee "is not there to make assessments but rather to take disciplinary action, or not, in order to make an example of incidents that occur" on the pitch.

"Making statements regarding the actions of the players adds even more tension to a situation that must be deescalated," Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu said.

Bartomeu also had harsh words for Tebas, who told Spanish media that he didn't like the attitude of some Barcelona players, hinting that they provoked the fans during their celebration.

"The declarations made by Tebas are irresponsible and unbecoming of a sports executive," Bartomeu said.

Barcelona's next game is Saturday against last-place Granada at the Camp Nou.