Barcelona star Sergi Roberto has, late on Saturday, provided an insight into the red card received by teammate Jordi Alba during the club’s meeting with Espanyol.
The latest edition of the Derbi Barceloni was of coursed played to completion earlier today.
A fiery affair ultimately culminated in the spoils being shared come the full-time whistle at the Camp Nou, after Marcos Alonso’s early opener was cancelled out by Joselu inside the closing 20 minute.
In the aftermath of the Catalan clash, though, it was not the eventual scoreline which in fact took its place centre stage in the headlines.
This honour, instead, was reserved for the always involved Mateu Lahoz.
Mateu Lahoz gave out 14 bookings, three red cards and overturned one of those sendings off during Barcelona vs. Espanyol.
He was the referee who gave out 17 yellow cards during Argentina vs. Netherlands at the World Cup.
At least he’s consistent 😅 pic.twitter.com/t3oS5AbW05
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) December 31, 2022
After setting pulses racing at the World Cup in Qatar owing to his unique brand of officiating, referee Lahoz has since returned to base in Spain, to serve his duties as the man in charge for La Liga fixtures.
After watching teammate Jordi Alba dismissed owing to one of a whopping 15 cards dished out over the course of Saturday’s clash, Barcelona star Sergi Roberto, in turn, was drawn on the situation post-match.
The versatile midfielder, though, was in fact keen to shift focus away from the referee.
Instead, Roberto revealed that, remarkably, Alba was completely oblivious to the fact that he had already received a booking earlier in proceedings at the Camp Nou:
“Alba had forgotten his first card. I don’t know what he said to get him expelled by the referee.”
Sergi Roberto claims Jordi Alba forgot earlier booking before dismissal against Espanyol https://t.co/zufApp68eM
— Football España (@footballespana_) December 31, 2022
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