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Updated April 6th, 2021 at 16:58 IST

Lionel Messi ACCUSES referee of trying to book him so he could miss El Clasico

Lionel Messi hit out at referee Jaime Latre and accused the official of trying to book him against Valladolid so he would miss El Clasico next weekend.

Reported by: Arnold Dsouza
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Ronald Koeman's Barcelona gave themselves a major thurst in the LaLiga title race on Monday when a late goal by Ousmane Dembele earned the Catalan giants all three points against Real Valladolid at the Camp Nou. However, the game had its fair share of controversy as Blaugrana captain Lionel Messi was seen hitting out at match referee Jaime Latre at half-time when the scoreline was locked at 0-0. The Argentine was aware that a booking will rule him out of next weekend's El Clasico at the Alfredo Di Stefano and accused Latre of being “desperate” to book him. 

Barcelona vs Valladolid highlights: Ousmane Dembele's late goal keeps Blaugrana in LaLiga title race

Barcelona struggled to create many chances in the first period and were denied a goal shortly before the break when Valladolid keeper Jordi Masip went down to his right to steer a well-hit Pedri shot off the post. Lionel Messi fired just wide of the goal on 70 minutes as Valladolid continued to frustrate Barcelona. However, the hosts were given the upper hand for the last 10 minutes of the match when Vallodild's Oscar Plano was sent off with a straight red following his foul from behind on Dembele.

Koeman's men then finally got the breakthrough in the final minute of normal time when Dembele pounced on a loose ball at the far post and hit a low volley past Masip's near post to hand Barcelona all three points. The victory propelled Barcelona to second on LaLiga table and the Catalan outfit now has 65 points, only one behind league leaders Atletico Madrid with nine games left to play in the season. 

Lionel Messi vents frustration at referee Jaime Latre during half-time

Although Barcelona got all three points against Valladolid, Lionel Messi appeared to be far from pleased with Jaime Latre's officiating in the game. Soon after half-time, when the scores were locked at 0-0, Messi vented his frustrations towards Latre and was heard telling Barcelona delegate Carles Naval, "The referee wants to give me a yellow card, incredible."

Messi's complaints as he left the pitch at half time were picked up by Movistar+. The Barcelona legend was already on four yellow cards entering the clash against Valladolid and another one during the game would have seen him suspended for the crunch game against Real Madrid next weekend. However, Messi wasn't booked during the game and is now in line to face Real Madrid, who are two points behind Barcelona, in El Clasico 2021 on Saturday. 

 

Image Credits - LaLiga Facebook

 

 

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Published April 6th, 2021 at 16:58 IST

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