Atletico Madrid captain Gabi has protested his innocence after being sent off at half time during their loss to Barcelona yesterday.

Los Rojiblancos hosted the Catalans in the second leg of their Spanish Cup quarter-final tie at the Vicente Calderon as they looked to overhaul Barcelona’s one goal advantage courtesy of their 1-0 win in the reverse fixture at the Camp Nou.




The match started auspiciously for Diego Simeone’s side as they went ahead in the first minute via a Fernando Torres strike, but they couldn’t hold onto their lead as the Catalans wrapped up a 3-2 win on the night. And a 4-2 aggregate score saw them qualify for the semi-final.

An unsavoury turn of events saw Gabi being sent off after the half time whistle for approaching the referee Jesus Manzano. The Atletico Madrid captain was questioning the match official for his failure to award a penalty after a Jordi Alba handball stopped an Antoine Griezmann shot that looked destined for the goal.
 


Gabi protested his innocence after the match and said he did not deserve to be sent off for asking the official a legitimate question.  

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“[All I said was] 'Jesus, it was a penalty and a sending off'. According to him that was me being disrespectful”, Gabi told Canal +.

“I feel sorry for the team. I believe that a referee should show more character and be more respectful towards players. We all make mistakes.

“You have to be fair, admit your mistakes and not try to be the centre of attention. Atletico did everything they could to turn the tie around.”

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