The referee who brandished Lionel Messi a first red card of his Barcelona career is facing calls to be sanctioned for his actions.
Jesus Gil Manzano dismissed Messi in the final minute of extra-time during Barcelona’s Spanish Super Cup defeat to Athletic Bilbao after the Argentine hit out at opposition striker Asier Villalibre.
Frustration had been building for Ronald Koeman’s side, who were chasing a late equaliser and had seen a number of fouls on the club’s all-time top-scorer go unpunished.
Manzano should now face retrospective action having failed to caution Bilbao’s players for their rough challenges, insists Jaume Roures, founding partner of Spanish multimedia group Mediapro.
"It is clear that Messi committed an action that he should not have done and that he had never done before," Roures told Marca.
"But I think we should not have reached the situation in which Messi was because the referee never intervened in the fouls he received.
"If he had shown some yellow cards, we would not have reached that situation.
"They should also sanction the referee. I think Messi will stay [at Barcelona] if he sees a winning project."
Last Sunday represented the third sending off of Messi’s career, though his previous two offences were committed while playing for Argentina.
The 33-year-old was first shown a red card in 2005 during an international friendly with Hungary, his second arriving 14 years later against Chile during a Copa America contest.
