Sergio Ramos Accuses Lionel Messi of 'Pressuring' Referee During Fiery El Clasico Draw
Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos has accused Barcelona's Lionel Messi of pressuring the referee during El Clasico on Sunday evening.
Alejandro Jose Hernandez Hernandez made various decisions throughout the game which generated criticism, and apparently the Barça star took matters into his own hands.
The 2-2 draw at Camp Nou was a typically heated encounter despite there being little at stake for either side. Nine cards were shown in total - one of which was red for Barcelona's Sergi Roberto, who appeared to strike Marcelo in the face in an off the ball incident just before half time.
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According to Ramos, one player who contributed to tipping the match over the line was Messi, who seemed to have a word with the man in charge of the game during half-time.
"He put a little pressure in the tunnel, I do not know if there were cameras,” Ramos told reporters, via The Express. “I do not know if in the second half he would have done it in other ways.
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Ramos also got himself caught up in some unsportsmanlike conduct when refusing to kick the ball out for Luis Suarez. However, the centre half moved to defend his decision.
"Whenever someone gets hurt on the pitch and we think it's serious, we kick the ball out," he said, as per Goal. "It's a mark of respect.
"But knowing what he is like, his style and how he is, I didn't think it was necessary to do so."
