Camp Nou

Towards the end of the first half, conflicts between Real Madrid and Barcelona erupted continuously, starting with Cristiano Ronaldo shoving Guardiola, nearly sparking a brawl between the teams.

The atmosphere of the entire match had already changed.

And when Messi was maliciously knocked down by Pepe, the teams once again erupted in a verbal conflict.

This intense atmosphere attracted many basketball fans and passersby who enjoy watching fights to tune into the match.

The referee managed to barely control the emotions of the teams with a yellow card, but from their slightly reddened eyes, it was clear that both teams were quite "overloaded."

"Real Madrid has intercepted the ball."

"Chen Zhong."

"Directly knocked Iniesta down onto the ground."

"Busquets attempts a tackle."

Barcelona’s attack didn’t succeed, the ball went to Chen Zhong. Chen Zhong carried the ball from the center, Iniesta tried to intercept from the side but was knocked down by Chen Zhong.

And Busquets decisively engaged physically.

However, he was forcefully muscled past by Chen Zhong.

But Busquets, having tangled with Chen Zhong the entire first half, had learned a thing or two. He wasn’t completely shaken off by Chen Zhong, sticking close and interfering with Chen Zhong’s ball control.

This scene lit up the eyes of the Barcelona fans in the stands.

They loudly cheered for Busquets, but forgot that football is never a one-man sport.

"Opted for a direct pass."

"A beautiful direct pass."

"Chen Zhong."

"Precisely found C. Ronaldo!"

"One on one!"

"Chance directly facing the goalkeeper!"

Despite being pressured by Busquets, Chen Zhong kept observing the situation on the pitch.

Without a hint of hesitation, he chose a direct pass, sending it to the left where Cristiano Ronaldo had already accelerated.

The Portuguese sprinted with determined strides toward the ball, while Valdes once again chose to abandon the goal to intercept.

Though Valdes was closer to the ball, Cristiano Ronaldo’s speed was faster. At the critical moment, Cristiano Ronaldo reached the ball first, leaving Valdes diving at empty air.

Valdes widened his eyes, turning to look at Cristiano Ronaldo.

Cristiano Ronaldo chased the ball the whole way, stumbled during his leap, and fell to the ground as the ball crossed the goal line.

In the stands, Real Madrid fans rose as one.

Their arms raised high, loudly expressing their shouts, trying to tell the referee that it should be a penalty.

They believed Cristiano Ronaldo lost control of the ball because of Valdes, which caused the ball to go out of bounds and him to fall to the ground.

The referee should give Real Madrid a penalty, and a yellow card to Valdes.

This would mean Barcelona would nearly face a "red card penalty package."

It’s worth noting, Valdes already received a yellow card earlier for mouthing off when he stepped up for Guardiola, if he gets another yellow and concedes a penalty now.

Barcelona’s match would be effectively finished.

Barcelona fans evidently disagreed with Real Madrid fans’ views.

They unanimously used terms like "dive" and "swim" to express their stance.

They didn’t just oppose giving Real Madrid a penalty, they even wanted the referee to show Cristiano Ronaldo a yellow card.

This would mean that Cristiano Ronaldo, already carrying a yellow card, would see red with a second yellow and be sent off, leaving Barcelona to face a Real Madrid with one less player at home.

This was going to be a critical decision, all eyes were on the referee.

Cristiano Ronaldo opened his arms on the ground, indicating he was fouled, while Valdes waved his finger, appealing something to the referee!

"This is a very crucial decision."

"C. Ronaldo and Valdes both have a yellow card already."

"If the referee shows another yellow card, whether to C. Ronaldo or Valdes."

"It means another team will be one man down."

"Let’s see what the referee decides?"

The referee’s name is Iturralde, being the most outstanding referee to officiate a national derby such as this, Iturralde ran to the "incident area," gathering players from both teams, but interestingly, Barcelona’s captain, Puyol, said it wasn’t a foul, while Real Madrid’s captain, Chen Zhong, emphasized that Cristiano Ronaldo hadn’t cheated at all.

The referee, after a moment of hesitation, blew the whistle and pointed towards the goal.

And the entire Camp Nou crowd was instantly drowned in boos.

"What kind of a call is this?"

"I really wonder how he got his coaching badge."

"This is definitely a penalty."

"Valdes deserves a yellow card!"

...

Fans of both Real Madrid and Barcelona were dissatisfied with the referee’s decision. Barcelona believed Cristiano Ronaldo dived and should get a yellow card, seeing a second yellow would mean he’d be sent off with a red.