Jordi Alba branded Barcelona’s ghost goal against Valencia “a colossal mistake” as “I saw the ball go in from the middle of the park!”
Messi’s shot in the first half was disallowed, despite it squirming through Neto’s gloves and crossing the line, contributing to Barca only drawing 1-1 with Valencia, and Alba felt the ‘outrageous’ decision marred an enjoyable night of football.
“It was a colossal mistake by the referee,” he said after the game.
“I was in the middle of the park and even I saw the ball go in! It’s outrageous.
“The same thing happened to us against Betis last season and who knows if we lost the League title because to that.
“It can’t be that the ball goes in by three metres and the referee doesn’t give the goal. It has to be seen! VAR? Of course, technology will help in situations like these.
“We had a great game. Playing at Mestalla is never easy for any team. I know that well because I used to play there.
“We were almost always in control and had a great first half, when we should’ve taken the lead.
“After that, they did some damage on the counterattack in the second half. Naturally, their goal made us push further and luckily we got the draw at least.
“It’s clear that Valencia are among the title candidates. They reinforced themselves very well and know how to play. They were a great team to face.”
However, the left-back took issue with the whistles he received from a section of Los Che fans, who were still bitter about his departure from Mestalla five years ago.
“It wasn’t good at all for me,” he added.
“It’s a shame that I was treated in such a way, I don’t understand it. They’ve kept this up for the past six years. All I ask for is respect.”
