Sergio Ramos: Lionel Messi put pressure on Referee at Half time
In a game full of controversial moments, match official Alejandro Hernandez made some debatable calls.
Ramos and Messi clashed on the pitch after the Argentine tackled the Spaniard in the first half, and Los Blancos’ captain has now claimed Messi influenced the referee in the tunnel during the half-time break after the official had sent Sergi Roberto off just before the first 45 minutes were completed.
"We all saw Messi pressuring the referee in the tunnel during half-time, and maybe that’s why he (the match official) didn’t do well in the second half," he said, as quoted by Cope.
"I know what he said but I’m not going to repeat it here."
Real players felt the referee should have blown for a foul by Luis Suarez on Raphael Varane in the build-up to Messi’s strike that made the scoreline 2-1 to Barca, and also believed they should have had a penalty after Marcelo was brought down in the box in the second half.