Real Madrid captain, Sergio Ramos, has admitted he was talking to Barcelona’s Gerard Pique after the referee showed him a red card in the 2-3 loss to Barcelona at Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday.
Ramos insisted his red card was unnecessary in the Clasico’s loss, adding that he never had the intention to harm anyone on the field.
Ramos was given the marching order in 77th minute for a two-footed tackle on Lionel Messi and the incident was seen as a pivotal moment in the game.
Ramos said his tackle warranted only a yellow card.
He told reporters, “The red card was excessive.
“I was not going to harm anyone. In my opinion, that was a yellow card, not a red. I was too late, but there was no contact.
“I never have the intention to hurt anyone.”
Ramos was seen afterwards applauding and gesturing to the crowd but denied that he was directing his sarcastic applause at the official as he left the field.
He added, “I did not applaud the referee when I walked off. I was talking to [Barcelona’s Gerard] Pique, not to the referee.
“Referees can be right and sometimes they are wrong. This one was decisive. But I was chatting to Pique, not the referee.
“[Barcelona] have a way of understanding football and they always talk about the referees and maybe that ends up bearing results.
“We’re not going to talk about the referees, though, that’s not our style. It’s not our sport. I wasn’t directing [gestures] at the referee, but at Pique, who is the one who always likes to talk about referees.”
“Permissive [refereeing] was their game against PSG.
“Pique likes to talk about referees. I said to him [when leaving the pitch] that with so much pressure and complaining in every tweet, it’s going to end up having an effect.”
Ramos, however, said that he doesn’t have a bad relationship with Pique, who he partners in the middle of Spain’s defence, although said he can’t be expected to embrace him after such a highly charged Clasico.
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