Of all the talks of referees going into Malaga vs Real Madrid, the refereeing here was shambolic at times
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All the pre-match focus going into the final weekend of La Liga was how referees can play a big part in the outcome of the game at La Rosadela, where Real Madrid just needed a points against Malaga to win their first title since 2011/12. However, it was the shambolic refereeing in the game between Barcelona and Eibar that was probably one of the highlights of the night.
Barcelona were awarded 2 penalties in the second half of the match, first when they were 2-1 but Messi’s spot-kick was saved by Yoel – which can only be termed as poetic justice - and then when they were on level terms as Messi successfully converted from the spot in the second attempt.
The referee, Alejandro Jose Hernandez, bizarrely pointed to the spot in the 69th minute when Jordi Alba flung himself to the ground inside the Eibar box after kicking at the ground instead of the ball with no opposition player in a 2 metre radius of him. It was a blatant dive and justice was served when Yoel saved Messi’s drilled penalty.
Only 5 minutes later, the referee pointed to the spot, once again, this time for a foul by Capa on Neymar – a rather soft call to be honest – before giving the defender his marching orders for his second bookable offence of the night. Messi stepped up and made no mistake as he gave Barcelona the lead for the first time on the night.
The Alba incident...
