Lionel Messi tells referee not to give him penalty in brilliant act of sportsman-spirit

Barcelona star Lionel Messi showed great sportsman-spirit, as he told the referee that he wasn’t fouled and a penalty shouldn’t be given.

The side maintained its 7-point lead over the second-placed Atletico Madrid with the win against Rayo Vallecano.

Lionel Messi scored with a penalty and provided an assist as the side came from a goal down to secure three points in the game.

However, the fans noticed a moment of great sportsman-spirit from Lionel Messi during the game.

Messi denies penalty:

The Argentine dribbled past a number of Rayo Vallecano’s players to create a brilliant opportunity but stumbled down inside the box. In a real-time view, it looked like the defender committed a foul on Messi.

However, the Barca captain stood up and pointed to the referee that there was no foul. The referee, who had seemingly made his mind to award a spot-kick to Barcelona, showed a thumbs-up to Messi for his great gesture.

Barcelona equalized in the game through Gerard Pique, while Lionel Messi gave the side a lead in the 51st minute through a penalty. The hosts scored a third through Luis Suarez to put the game to bed.

Here’s the video of Messi correcting the referee on a penalty call:

Barcelona have 63 points from 27 games in the La Liga and seem to be cruising to their second consecutive league title. They advanced to the final of the Copa del Rey last month, as they registered an emphatic 3-0 defeat over arch-rivals Real Madrid at Santiago Bernabeu.

Three days later, they secured a double on Real, winning 1-0 at their home in the league.

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Barcelona will return to action on Wednesday night as they take on Lyon in the Champions League round-of-16.