The reaction of a key member of the defensive ranks at La Liga giants Barcelona to the first yellow card shown to manager Xavi over the weekend has piqued widespread attentions across Spain.
Barca, of course, marked their return to action on Sunday night, making the trip to the Wanda Metropolitano for a highly-anticipated showdown with Atlético Madrid.
And though the Blaugrana ultimately marched on to the right side of a 3-0 result, one sour note was also forthcoming on the personnel front.
This came upon the aforementioned Xavi being shown a quick-fire pair of yellow cards.
After first being booked for protesting a decision late in the first-half, a 2nd yellow, and ensuing red quickly followed, meaning the Spaniard is facing up to a likely multi-game touchline ban.
Xavi, for his part, was left looking bemused by each of the bookings handed down to him, adamant that his protests did not cross any sort of disciplinary line.
And, as alluded to above, one member of the tactician’s squad at the Metropolitano appeared to be in full agreement when it comes to as much.
The player in question? Iñigo Martínez.
As reported by Cat Radio, amongst a host of other sources, the reaction of stopper Iñigo to Xavi being booked on Sunday has gone viral online.
This comes after the 32-year-old stood up from his spot on the bench, turning to his teammates, before letting out a loud, sarcastic laugh.
The gesture was met by several laughs in response, as all associated with Barcelona continue to make clear their feelings that Xavi is being overly harshly treated by officials on a near-weekly basis.
Conor Laird | GSFN
