Calderon: I told them a thousand times I was Real Madrid president

Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon refused to complain after being held by immigration officials over a security cock-up at a New York airport.

The confusion came because his surname figured in a blacklist held by the immigration service. Calderon was visiting New York to attend the opening of the Opera season with his wife.

"They acted appropriately," said Calderon. "The only bad thing that happened was they refused to listen to me."

"Of course, I told them a thousand times I wasn't the person they were looking for. I told them I was president of Real Madrid, but they wouldn't listen."

"I must say I am disappointed by some of the reporting of this. I've already seen on the internet some claims I was stopped over 'strange circumstances'. What rubbish! What happened to me, has happened to many people travelling from Spain. You just have to laugh about it."

Calderon added: "The only concern I had was my wife and I would miss the Opera. But we managed to get to the theatre five minutes before it began. We had dinner with Placido Domingo, a great Madridista, afterwards and joked about the incident."