Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos criticised Luis Suarez, saying his team refused to stop play for the Barcelona forward because of “how he is”.
Another thrilling Clasico ended in a 2-2 draw at Camp Nou on Sunday as Barcelona remained on track to finish the LaLiga season unbeaten.
But Madrid angered the hosts late after refusing to kick the ball out with Suarez on the ground injured as they pushed for a winner.
However, Ramos had no regrets afterwards, saying the Uruguayan’s history meant Madrid had no intention of stopping play.
“Whenever someone gets hurt on the pitch and we think it’s serious, we kick the ball out,” he said.
“It’s a mark of respect.
“But knowing what he is like, his style and how he is, I didn’t think it was necessary to do so.”
“Knowing Luis Suarez, I made clear that we wouldn’t put the ball out of play,” he explained in his post-match press conference.
“We aren’t here to educate anyone, I have enough with my three children at home.
“That’s the referee’s job.
“We wanted to win at that moment.”
With the decision to play on clearly causing fury amongst the Blaugrana fans and players alike, the situation threatened to descend into chaos.
Jordi Alba launched himself into a challenge, whilst Paulinho was then incredibly aggressive when getting very close to the face of a rather bemused Lucas Vazquez.
“They haven’t won the league because of referees, they have done extremely well and are deserved winners,” he admitted.
Even Marcelo would then weigh in on the controversy surrounding Suarez’s apparent injury, with the Brazilian equally unconvinced that the former Liverpool goal-scorer was actually in real distress.
“We knew that Suarez’s injury wasn’t serious,” he confirmed.
“That’s why we didn’t put the ball out of play.
“Not because we didn’t want to.”
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