Barcelona boss Xavi has called for calm after the club was forced to apologise for a board member's tweet mocking Real Madrid winger Vinicius Jr ahead of this weekend's El Clasico.
The Brazilian forward has often faced racial abuse from opposition fans in Spain and was this week subjected to a quickly-deleted post on X (formerly Twitter) by Barcelona director Miguel Camps.
"It's not racism, he deserves a slap for being a clown and a joker, what do those unnecessary and pointless stepovers in the middle of the pitch mean?" Camps said of Vinicius following Madrid's win over Braga in the Champions League.
Reports in Spain suggest Real club president Florentino Perez will refuse to travel to Catalonia for Saturday's Clasico as a result of the episode.
Barcelona coach Xavi said after his side's win over Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday that he will not drum up anger between the rival sets of fans and players.
"If he deleted it, there is no need to say anything," he told reporters.
"He has deleted it. I don't like anything that generates tension.
"I don't like that the referees can be influenced [by it]. I already said that I want the Clasico to have respect and mutual admiration. I won't be the one who generates any tension."
Barcelona vice president Rafa Yuste issued an apology to Vinicius on behalf of the club after Camps' deleted post made headlines.
He told Movistar: "If Vinícius is listening to me, I want to say that this will not be repeated. Even if it was a mistake, it should not have been posted. It was inappropriate."
