© EuroFootball.com
Judges constantly accusing "Barcelona" of favoritism should shut their mouths and carefully examine the events at La Coruña's Riazor Stadium.
In the eighth round of the Spanish championship, the Catalan club defeated "Deportivo" 5-4 on the road, but the excellent and intense match was not without controversial referee decisions.
Referee from Andalusia, Jose Luis Paradas Romero, awarded a penalty to "Barcelona" in the 26th minute after Javier Mascherano knocked the ball away from the opponent's feet. Even if the Argentine had committed a foul, the referee would have had to award a free-kick.
At the start of the second half, J.L. Paradas Romero once again drew the anger of J. Mascherano. The Barcelona player took the ball from "Deportivo" striker Riki without a foul, but the latter then simulated Mascherano's foul - holding his face as if he had been hit in the elbow and falling to the ground. The match referee decided to penalize Mascherano and showed him a yellow card. Since this was the player's second warning, he was forced to leave the field.
After the match, Riki himself admitted that he had gone too far, and J. Mascherano took the ball from him without breaking any rules.
In the 77th minute, for some reason, the referee did not like the way Cesc Fabregas, who was then on the bench of "Barcelona" substitutes, celebrated Lionel Messi's goal. The Catalan was then punished with a yellow card.
In the 85th minute, L. Messi himself received a warning. The reason was known only to the referee, while the Argentine's reaction was completely calm.
After such referee decisions, the Madrid team, "Real," was constantly favored by the newspaper "Marca."
Journalists of this publication, traditionally evaluating the work of referees with grades, did not spare criticism, and J.L. Paradas Romero's "parade" on the field was rated as a one out of ten in the scoring system.
