Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde has criticised the referee's decision to send Clement Lenglet off after a VAR review during this evening's 2-2 draw with Girona.
Referee Gil Manzano initially awarded a free kick to the Barcelona defender following a clash with Pere Pons, but reversed his decision and produced a straight red card for Lenglet after reviewing the footage of the incident.
The replays showed Lenglet catching Pons with his elbow, although it was subjective as to whether it was an intentional action from the defender and Valverde believes that it was a turning point in a game which Barca were leading 1-0 at the time.
"Well, there's a clash, that's clear and there's an elbow, we have seen that in the photo. It's the first red card that [the] person who is on the receiving end of it says sorry, and that's Lenglet," he told LaLiga TV.
"The VAR is there to give out justice and I don't think it was a red card. There's an impact maybe and Lenglet has made a strange gesture, but I don't think it's a red card at all. The referee had looked to see if the opponent had committed a foul.
"The red card really changed the game. We were dominating and then after the red card, it's not that we didn't have control then either. We had the bad luck to concede the equaliser right at the end of the first half and then at 2-1 down, we had to try to get back into the game."
The result saw Barcelona drop points for the first time this season.
Barney Corkhill
