UD Las Palmas 1-1 FC Barcelona: 5 Talking Points

#3 Officiating mishaps

A questionable penalty was awarded to Las Palmas

At the stroke of half time, Luis Suarez was on course for a straight run at the goal. Las Palmas goalkeeper Leandro Chichizola came off his line to clear the danger but inadvertently handled the ball outside his area. It was a clear red card offence which was missed by the match officials.

Two minutes into the second half, Las Palmas were awarded a penalty. As many as three different incidents took place during that decision. Sergi Roberto dragged back Matias Aguirregaray, Lucas Digne looked to have handled the ball and Thomas Vermaelen was pushed to the ground.

It was unsure on which incident did referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz awarded the penalty whereas he ignored the one on Vermaelen. In reality, all three happenings were not worthy of being given even a foul. FC Barcelona argued with the referee after the final whistle and Ernesto Valverde called the spot kick an "invisible penalty". No one in the stadium including the camera people and the commentators could make out why the penalty was given.

The Catalans would feel hard done by the refereeing decisions on the night. At the same time, Barcelona conceded a penalty for the first time in 79 games, a run that stretches back to February 2016.