Barcelona president questions Real Madrid penalty vs Rayo Vallecano: ‘Players getting used to diving…’ | OneFootball

Speaking to the media ahead of his team’s Copa del Rey clash against Albacete, FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta has raised question marks over Real Madrid’s recent win over Rayo Vallecano.

Los Blancos secured a narrow 2-1 win over the Madrilenian outfit at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday, following a late penalty from Kylian Mbappe, deep into stoppage time.

The victory allowed Real Madrid to move within a point of league leaders Barcelona, who had beaten Elche on Saturday.

Laporta raises questions

Now, Barça president Laporta has questioned the legitimacy of the penalty awarded to Real Madrid, insinuating that Los Blancos’ players are getting used to diving in the box to win spot kicks from referees.

“Yesterday, forgive the joke about diving, but I watched the match between Madrid and Rayo, and besides… I don’t know where those 9 or 10 minutes of extra time came from,” he said, as captured on El Chiringuito.

“I saw many plays where some players were getting used to diving, pretending to be fouled, and that should be a card.”

Continuing, he added: “I don’t want to lecture, but I did see that Rayo were very disadvantaged in a match where two players were sent off, the match was extended when they were tied 10 minutes and on top of that, a penalty in the last minute.”

Reliving the incident that led to the penalty for a foul on Brahim Diaz, he explained: “There are penalties that I would not call because I believe they are not fouls.

“The defender touches the ball badly, loses his balance, lifts his legs, doesn’t kick out at the forward, who throws himself to the ground. Please, I think it was exaggerated.”

Brahim won the penalty that helped Real Madrid win vs Rayo. (Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images)

“The referee can call whatever he considers appropriate, but from a football fan’s point of view, these penalties are very harsh,” Laporta added.

The Barcelona president then called out RMTV, who have complained constantly about refereeing decisions going against them, saying:

“It turns out that they [referees] are favouring a club that has a television channel that is dedicated to explaining things that are out of place and saying that referees are constantly and permanently harming them.

“The reaction is this: what is the famous television station saying? It says that all referees are harming their team. It has not analysed any of this. Let them watch it and somehow be more impartial.”

However, Laporta added that he has full faith in La Liga and the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) to sort the issue out, as he said:

“I have complete confidence in the League, in the Federation, in the bodies that govern refereeing, and I understand that these things can happen.

“What we don’t want is for it to always happen on one side, and somehow it needs to be corrected because there are very obvious situations.”