What Lionel Messi said to referee after controversial Barcelona no-goal against Valencia

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Barcelona star Lionel Messi was denied a goal in the 1-1 draw with Valencia at the Mestalla over the weekend, with replays showing his effort had clearly crossed the line.

Such was the controversy caused by the incident, it’s still being discussed days later, as it could have allowed the Catalan giants to open up a more commanding lead at the top of the La Liga table.

Instead, despite Valencia goalkeeper Neto spilling Messi’s effort over the line, as seen in the image below, the goal wasn’t given and the two sides played out a draw as Messi was left to remonstrate with the officials but to no avail.

Mundo Deportivo claim to have discovered what the Argentine international told the officials, specifically referee Ignacio Iglesias, with the report noting that he told him: “You are wrong, now you are going to see it”.

Further, he explained with the relevant hand gestures: “The line is here and the ball is there”, after he conferred with a Barcelona coaching staff member to confirm that the ball had definitely crossed the line, with referee Iglesias simply having to respond by saying he would have to watch it back.

Based on the issues it has caused, it’s surely about time that La Liga gave goal-line technology some more consideration, as they would have avoided all the drama surrounding the incident.

Messi is a goal lighter this season than he should be, and Barcelona remain just four points ahead of Valencia at the top of the table. While he did his best to contest the decision, it was all in vain at the time but he’ll at least take some consolation from the fact that Barca did manage to secure a point.

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