Barcelona chief goes on the assault and accuses La Liga referees of favouring Actual Madrid and Brahim Diaz of diving

Barcelona president Joan Laporta says Actual Madrid’s last-gasp penalty in opposition to Rayo Vallecano on the weekend was “questionable” and accused Brahim Diaz of “throwing himself to the bottom”.

Madrid have been toiling in opposition to the ten males of Rayo when referee Isidro Diaz de Mera Escuderos adjudged Nobel Mendy to have fouled Diaz within the space within the tenth minute of time added on and Kylian Mbappe made no mistake from the spot handy the hosts a 2-1 victory.

There was nonetheless time for Rayo to go right down to 9 males with Pep Chavarria becoming a member of Pathe Cisse in seeing pink.

The win for Madrid noticed them transfer again inside some extent of La Liga leaders Barca, who have been 3-1 winners at Elche the night time earlier than.

Barcelona face Albacete – the group that knocked out Actual Madrid – tonight within the Copa del Rey quarter-finals and, talking earlier than the standard lunch for the respective golf equipment’ administrators, Laporta didn’t maintain again when requested to evaluate the awarding of the penalty.

He instructed reporters: “It was a sport during which two gamers have been sent-off. The sport was prolonged after they [Madrid] have been drawing and, on prime of that, a penalty was awarded within the final minute, and the penalty was questionable.”

Diaz ‘threw himself to the bottom’ – Barcelona president

After stressing he was talking “as a soccer fan”, he added: “There are penalties that I’d not whistle for as a result of they don’t seem to be. He [Diaz] touches the ball badly, the defender is unbalanced, raises his leg and doesn’t kick the striker who throws himself to the bottom. I feel it was exaggerated.”

Complaining a couple of perceived bias in officiating in La Liga shouldn’t be new with Madrid renown for pushing a membership agenda by means of its in-house channel.

Laporta added: “I say it in a constructive sense. Generally it occurs in our favour. However they’re now favouring a membership that has a tv channel that’s devoted to explaining issues that they really feel are misplaced and saying that referees consistently hurt them. This [the penalty award] is the response.”

Laporta feels diving is commonplace in Spanish soccer and wish to see referees deal with offenders the way in which they do in different nations.

He stated: “The opposite day I watched a Premier League sport and after a dive they confirmed the participant a card.”