Barcelona head coach, Hansi Flick has tasked referees to do more to safeguard players after Lamine Yamal was injured in a violent tackle against Las Palmas over the weekend.
After the game, Yamal posted a picture of his blood-soaked sock to social media with the mocking remark, “It’s not a foul!”
According to 90min, the 17-year-old prodigy, however, has not sustained any significant injuries and may potentially play in Tuesday night’s first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final against Atletico Madrid.
“I think he will be able to play, I have a positive feeling” – Flick has asked for “hard fouls” to be more seriously punished as a deterrent.
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“We can’t say that Lamine or certain players are specially protected, it should be for everyone. If they don’t get yellow cards, hard fouls keep being repeated,” the Barca coach said.
“We have to protect them. I think it’s the sensible thing to do. Not just some special players, but all of them.
“In Spain we all like to see the one-v-ones, to see those footballers who are capable of getting past the defenders, they have to be protected.”
The fact that Yamal just recently defended La Liga referees in the face of conspiracy theories that Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Atletico Madrid are the targets of an agenda is a touch amusing.
“The thing is that I think that lately almost everything is questioned,” Yamal said last week.
“There are things that are clear and there is no doubt about them. And I think that in the end the job of a referee is very difficult, that in the end if you call for one side the other is going to complain.”
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