Barcelona: Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos said Barcelona forward Lionel Messi put pressure on the referee at half-time in Sunday’s thrilling ‘Clasico’ at the Nou Camp which ended 2-2 after a series of controversial decisions.

Barca defender Sergi Roberto had been sent off right at the end of the first half for clashing with Marcelo, provoking fury among the home side’s players and supporters as moments earlier Real forward Gareth Bale had gotten away with a studs-up challenge on Samuel Umtiti.

The Wales forward later denied Liga champions Barca victory by hitting a scorching late equaliser from outside the area.

The constant on-field confrontations and meaty challenges led to referee Alejandro Hernandez Hernandez dishing out eight yellow cards, including booking Ramos and Barca striker Luis Suarez.

Ramos said: “Messi put him under a bit of pressure in the tunnel, I don’t know if there are cameras, maybe he caused him to referee in the second half in a different way.

“He said everything to him. This is football and everything should stay on the pitch.” Ramos also said he thought Suarez had been exaggerating his pain when the Uruguayan striker went down after a challenge in the first half. Real did not put the ball out of play at the time, angering Barca players.

“When an opponent is down on the floor and you think it’s serious you normally kick the ball out of play. But I know him a little and I know what he’s like,” Ramos added.

“We always respect Barcelona but in that play I thought kicking the ball out was not necessary.” Suarez also had a goal ruled out for offside, while Madrid were denied a late penalty when Marcelo was tripped in the area by Jordi Alba.

“We watched an incredible game of football and I can’t say if the draw is fair or not,” said Real coach Zinedine Zidane, who would not be drawn on the referee’s performance.

“Those that came to the stadium will go home happy. The game had a little bit of everything, I imagine it was very tough to referee.”

As well as Bale’s reckless challenge, Suarez fouled Raphael Varane in the build-up to Messi’s goal while Marcelo should have had a late penalty after he was brought down by Jordi Alba.

“Next year it will change with VAR,” Zidane said. “Then we will see what a match like that will look like.”

Valverde added: “It was clearly a difficult match to referee. I am not sure about the red card for Sergi Roberto, he might have raised his hand but I do not think it was worthy of a red, maybe because I know him.”

The thrilling nature of the match meant Andres Iniesta’s last Clasico before leaving Barcelona at the end of the season was reduced to a footnote. The Spaniard went off to a standing ovation in the second half.

“I am doing everything possible so I can play these last few games and try to absorb them,” Iniesta told Barca TV.

“Three matches remain, they are the last ones, it seems that the end never comes but we have won the league already and I will try to enjoy every minute.”

Standings

La Liga

GP W D L GF GA Pts

Barcelona 34 26 8 0 87 21 86

Atletico 36 22 9 5 55 20 75

Madrid 34 21 8 5 82 37 71

Valencia 36 20 7 9 62 37 67

Betis 36 18 5 13 56 56 59

Villarreal 35 17 6 12 50 41 57

Sevilla 35 15 6 14 43 54 51

Getafe 35 13 10 12 40 32 49

Girona 36 13 9 14 48 57 48

Eibar 36 13 8 15 41 48 47

Sociedad 36 13 7 16 63 56 46

Celta Vigo 36 12 10 14 55 52 46

Alaves 36 14 2 20 37 48 44

Athletic Bilbao 36 10 13 13 40 45 43

Espanyol 36 10 13 13 31 41 43

Leganes 35 11 7 17 29 43 40

Levante 35 9 13 13 34 50 40

Deportivo 36 6 11 19 35 70 29

Las Palmas 35 5 7 23 23 70 22

Malaga 36 5 5 26 23 56 20

Played last night

Leganes v Levante