“He knocks me out" - Barcelona loanee Inaki Pena makes feelings clear about controversy around late Real Madrid equaliser in 2-2 draw vs Elche

Barcelona loanee Inaki Pena opened up about Real Madrid's late equalizer in their 2-2 draw vs Elche on November 23. Pena will remain at Elche as a loanee until the end of this season.

After a goalless first half, things started brewing up in the second half. By the 84th minute, Elche were leading 2-1, with Aleix Febas (53') and Alvaro Rodriguez (84') scoring. Yet, Los Blancos scraped through with a 2-2 draw with Jude Bellingham's equalizer in the final minutes of the game (87') after Dean Huijsen's initial goal (78').

However, Bellingham's equalizer generated controversy as it came after Inaki Pena and Vinicius Jr being involved in a bloody collision. There was doubt on whether it should have been ruled out due to a foul on Pena.

In the post-match interview, Inaki Pena opened up about the controversial goal, discussing whether it should have been a foul. He said (via Barca Blaugranes):

"He shoots, tries to go for the rebound, but on the second play, he doesn’t let me participate because he knocks me out. For me, it is a foul, but if the referee goes to VAR and says it’s not a foul, there’s nothing we can do."

The draw against Elche sees Real Madrid still sitting at the top of the LaLiga table, with 32 points off 13 games. However, they are now only one point clear of rivals Barcelona, who have 31 points off 13 matches.

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez fires shots at Barcelona over Negreira issue

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has made scathing statements over Barcelona's alleged involvement in the controversial Negreira case. The case sees the Catalans being accused of making reported payments to the former Vice President of the referees' association, Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira. Speaking in the Ordinary General Assembly, Perez said (via Defensa Central):

"It’s not normal that Barcelona paid the vice president of the referees’ association more than 8 million euros for at least 17 years. Whatever the reason. The vice president of referees, who held important positions. A period that, coincidentally, coincides with Barca’s best results in our country."

He continued:

"We can all agree that expulsions involve the greatest degree of subjectivity. Well, look. Real Madrid had a net balance, in the 21st century, of two expulsions against them. And Barcelona, with 61 expulsions in their favour. That’s a difference of no less than 59. The balance of expulsions during Negreira’s time in charge, Barca’s balance was +49, and Real Madrid’s was -1. Draw your own conclusions."

Perez's statements appeared to have further ignited the two LaLiga giants' historic rivalry. Meanwhile, the Catalans have denied any allegations in the Negreira case, stating that the payments gave them any advantage.

Edited by Pratyasha Sarkar