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Barcelona’s head coach, Hansi Flick, implores referees in LALIGA to do better protecting exciting player.

Barcelona’s head coach Hansi Flick implored LALIGA referees to protect creative players like Vinicius Jr. and Lamine Yamal in the wake of the Spanish international’s injury that could rule him out of the Copa del Rey clash against Atletico Madrid. 

Real Madrid beat Girona to return level on points with Barcelona.

Barcelona beat Las Palmas to return to the top of LALIGA after Atletico Madrid usurped them earlier in the day.

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What happened? 

The Blaugrana bested Las Palmas over the weekend to maintain their hold on pole position in the LALIGA title race. During the match, Yamal was fouled by a Yellow Submarines defender, but referee Adrian Cordero Vega waved play on. 

Following the game, the 17-year-old shared a picture of his bloody foot and captioned it “no foul.” It was revealed earlier today that he was absent from training and is in doubt for the first leg of their cup semi-final clash against Atletico tomorrow. 

What Flick said 

Speaking ahead of the game, the German tactician addressed the issue. While he does not expect the likes of Yamal and Vinicius to be given preferential treatment, he posited that such tackles as was suffered by the Euro 2024 champion must be penalised to serve as a deterrent to defenders. 

“We can’t say that Lamine, Vini, or Raphinha have to be specially protected, but rather all the players,” Flick explained, per AS. 

“If it’s a tough tackle, a yellow card should be given; otherwise, it will keep happening again and again. They (the referees) need to do it, and that’s it. The most sensible thing is what I’m saying. As a defender, you have to know that next time you can’t go in hard. If I get a yellow card, the next time I’ll be more relaxed.

“Everyone loves it when a player is at their best in a one-versus-one. This is what makes Barcelona and Madrid special. These players are able to play against one or two players at the same time. This needs to be protected.”