FC Barcelona 1-0 Espanyol – La Liga Derby: What Did The Referee Do?

At the weekend, FC Barcelona won their La Liga derby match 1-0 against city rivals Espanyol at the Camp Nou – in a game where fairness was yet to dominate.

Lionel Messi missed the game due to an ankle injury he sustained in midweek during his Champions League game against Ukraine’s Dynamo Kiev, and he was therefore replaced by French striker Thierry Henry.

Henry, Pedro, and Maxwell all came close to scoring for Barcelona in the first half, but Espanyol also placed the Catalans under pressure; firing dangerous shots on goal, only for Victor Valdes to be tested.

Minutes before the break, a cross was sent towards the danger zone, and inexplicably, the Spanish midfielder Xavi Hernandez went down inside the box. There was very few contact between him and the Espanyol defender close to him, but the referee decided to punish the visitors by awarding Barcelona what was a controversial penalty.

There were not many complains from the away crowd, and knowing how important such a moment could be, the Swedish man Zlatan Ibrahimovic stepped up and brilliantly converted from the spot. 1-0 was then the score line.

Espanyol tried to get back into the game, but their aggressiveness was inflicting to much fouls on their opponents. Moments before the final whistle, Andres Iniesta was badly brought down, and in fact, Chica should have been shown his second yellow card of the night; nevertheless, the referee refused to do so – perhaps to redeem himself subsequent to his controversial decision earlier on.

Barcelona then had several chances to increase their lead, but lack of precision denied them a second goal.

In the end of proceedings, the score line remained 1-0 in favor of Barcelona, and both Espanyol and Iniesta might have a few questions to ask the referee. Obviously, the game wasn’t perfectly officiated; unfortunately, such things keep happening in big football clashes such as the one we just saw at the weekend in La Liga: Barcelona – Espanyol.

Read this article on other sites:
FC Barcelona 1-0 Espanyol – La Liga Derby: What Did The Referee Do? @ Footbo
FC Barcelona 1-0 Espanyol – La Liga Derby: What Did The Referee Do? @ Sportsviews

Isaac Asante, LMF

Related posts:

1. FC Barcelona 1-0 Espanyol – La Liga Derby: Video Highlights Lionel Messi Fan now brings you the video highlights of...
2. Espanyol vs Barcelona: Lionel Messi To Get First Goal Against Espanyol Lionel Messi will be playing away from home against Espanyol...
3. Pictures : Lionel Messi vs Espanyol (1-1) 8 January 2012 – La liga messi v espanyol Barcelona slipped in a 1-1 draw over...
4. Lionel Messi Pictures vs Espanyol (18 December 2010) La liga Lionel Messi didn't score yesterday night, when Barcelona meet up...
5. Lionel Messi Pictures: Espanyol 0-0 Barcelona – La Liga Pictures of Lionel Messi from Espanyol 0-0 Barcelona - La...