Rayo Vallecano trio refuse to point fingers at referee after Barcelona defeat | OneFootball

Barcelona recorded a massive result at Montjuic on Monday night as they beat Rayo Vallecano by a narrow 1-0 margin to retake the lead on top of the standings.

With Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid dropping points on Matchday 24, the Catalans capitalised after they defended the lead given by Robert Lewandowski despite the forwards having a relative day off.

Barcelona’s only goal on the night came from a penalty that the Polish striker converted after Pathe Ciss brought down Inigo Martinez in the box.

There was, however, a lot said in the Spanish media about poor officiating as Rayo Vallecano not only had a very similar penalty not awarded but also a goal annulled for an offside player blocking Wojciech Szczesny’s view.

Sporting comments all around

As relayed in a recent update by Mundo Deportivo, no individual from Rayo Vallecano even remotely complained about the officiating on the night and took the blame for the defeat on themselves.

Speaking to the media after the game, their coach Inigo Perez refused to pin any blame on the referees, saying,

“I will always try to stay out of any referee decision, regardless of whether it favours us and or penalizes us.”

“I empathise a lot with them and I will not cross that line, even if I may have my opinion,” he added.

Melero Lopez’s decisions not questioned by Rayo Vallecano. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

Like the coach, Rayo Vallecano’s goalkeeper and standout player Augusto Batalla also echoed the same mindset.

“I don’t like to talk much about refereeing and I’m not going to talk. For the sake of respect, we all do our job and sometimes it comes out better or worse,” he noted.

Notably, even Rayo Vallecano’s president Martin Presa refused to comment anything against the referees as he calmly stated that Barcelona deserved to win.

“If Rayo lost, it is not because of the referees, it is because we scored one goal less than Barcelona.”

“I think the referee’s interpretation is correct,” he added on the penalty awarded to Barcelona.

In a day and age where even elite Spanish clubs are making a fuss out of arbitration decisions, the stance of Rayo Vallecano as an institute is truly inspirational and something all clubs in Spain must learn from.