Lionel Messi was on the wrong end of his very own Roy Carroll moment on Sunday evening.
His Barcelona side had travelled to the Mestalla Stadium to face Valencia – a team who also boasted an unbeaten La Liga record.
With the scores goalless at the time, Messi saw a first half shot from the edge of the area spilled by goalkeeper, Neto. Replays and a host of images swiftly confirmed that the ball had indeed crossed the line by some distance before Neto had managed to hook it away with his hand.
Messi and his teammates were so convinced, they’d even started to celebrate.
The goal, though, was not given. Despite the fact the ball clearly crossed the goal line, the referee and his officials failed to acknowledge that it had and play continued – much to the annoyance of the Barca players.
As pointed out in the time since, La Liga do not operate the same goal-line technology system in operation in the Premier League. Perhaps after this incident, they might fancy a rethink…
No goal line technology in La Liga. Messi goal not given. Pathetic !!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/Sv6jdF3SBH
— TheWelshDragon 🏴🐉 (@TheWelshDragon9) November 26, 2017
Valencia later took the lead in the game through Rodrigo with half an hour remaining. Jordi Alba equalised for Barca as the game entered its final ten minutes, the game ending in a 1-1 draw.
