Lionel Messi was not happy with the referee’s performance during the Barcelona vs Real Valladolid clash in La Liga on Monday night. The Argentine hit out at the official’s performance during the half-time break. The Catalans hosted Valladolid with a chance of cutting the points gap between them and leaders Atletico Madrid and eventually managed a 1-0 win courtesy of Ousmane Dembele's 90th-minute strike. Ousmane Dembele Takes Barcelona to 1-0 Win Against Real Valladolid.

Lionel Messi entered the game while being on four yellow cards in La Liga and another booking would have seen him suspended for at least one game. Barcelona face Real Madrid next in the league and the 33-year-old accused the referee of wanting to show him a yellow card so the Argentine would be unavailable for selection in El Clasico. Lionel Messi Poses for a Picture With His Family & Teammates, Argentine Honoured at Camp Nou For Most Number of Appearances for Barcelona.

The cameras caught Lionel Messi while entering the tunnel during the half-time break, talking to Barcelona staff member Carles Naval while criticising the referee Jaime Latre. ‘He's desperate to show me a card ... ufff, incredible,’ the Argentine skipper said indicating that the official wanted to prevent him from playing against Real Madrid.

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Lionel Messi eventually avoided a fifth booking and will be available for El Clasico next week along with fellow teammate Frenkie De Jong, who was also in danger of missing the fixture with another booking. With nine games of the season remaining Barcelona could overtake Atletico Madrid with a win over their age-old rivals.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 06, 2021 07:08 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).