Tuesday 25 April 2017 15:11, UK
Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos has reignited his ongoing feud with Barcelona centre-back Gerard Pique in the aftermath of Sunday's Clasico.
Ramos was shown a straight red card by referee Alejandro Jose Hernandez for a wild two-footed lunge on Lionel Messi as the champions went on to record a dramatic 3-2 win in the Spanish capital.
However, as Ramos left the pitch, he was seen to gesture towards his compatriot with his hands, before pointing in the direction of the director's box at the Santiago Bernabeu and then giving Pique a sarcastic thumbs-up.
The 31-year-old, though, believes his sending-off was harsh and went on to have a major effect on the outcome of the match.
"For me, the red card was excessive," Ramos told Marca. "I admit that I was late after seeing it 40 times but I wasn't trying to injure anyone.
"Messi did well and jumped out of the way but I didn't touch him and it had a big impact on the game."
At the start of the year, Pique suggested referees in Spain favoured Real, with the defender going on to tweet images of Cristiano Ronaldo's two offside goals that helped eliminate Bayern Munich from the Champions League last week.
Ramos, though, hit back, claiming: "Pique likes to talk about the referees, with so much pressure on them with his tweets and complaints all the time. I don't regret my gesture towards him, I just regret leaving my team with 10 players."
As a result of Barcelona's victory at the weekend, the Catalans have now moved level on points with Zinedine Zidane's side at the top of La Liga, albeit having played a game more, as the season reaches its climax.
