The pictures and video footage were posted on the club's website along with a lengthy diatribe over what it claims were play-acting antics by Pep Guardiola's men. The video footage even shows clips of other Barca players 'feigning' injury during the match. Yep, pretty provocative stuff.
I think there's no real contention that Pepe's sending off was a bit of a harsh decision. On the contrary, I think everyone's in agreement that it was at the most a yellow card offense. But make no mistake. It was an offense and Madrid's own photos clearly indicate that Pepe's offending foot was heading no where near the ball but aimed directly towards Alves' shin.
I can't say for sure whether contact was made but the video footage seems to suggest there was contact (you can check out the video below).
Perhaps the most appalling aspect about the whole incident is Real Madrid's cry of injustice and attempt to paint Barcelona as a team of Olympic divers. It just seems kinda rich coming from a team that boasts legendary divers such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Angel Di Maria, Emanuel Adebayor and Kaka to name a few.
In fact, Mourinho's had a long history of coaching divers. Does Didier Drogba ring a bell? In case your memory needs some refreshing, here's one of Ronaldo's many classic dives.
Last but not least, there's Rio Ferdinand who weighed in over the affair with the following posts on Twitter.
Rio Ferdinand: "This diving is a joke/embarrassing. When Pedro watches that do you think he'll think, "What was I doing!?" Rugby players must laugh at football. If you ever see me go off on a stretcher then run back on to play, I give everyone on here the green light to him me with a two-footed tackle."
Thanks Rio. Hopefully you can impart some of that wisdom to your teammate Nani the next time he falls like a deck of cards at the softest of tackles.
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