Barcelona's Sergi Roberto sent off for punch in feisty El Clasico

Barcelona had to play the second half of Sunday’s Clasico against Real Madrid with 10 men after Sergi Roberto was shown a straight red card for hitting out at Marcelo:

Marcelo, who had made contact (but not malicious contact) with Roberto, immediately fell to the ground after the clash. It was unclear if Roberto actually struck his Brazilian counterpart in the face. It was clear that Marcelo baited him into lashing out, and baited the referee into showing a red card.

But it was definitely some sort of punch or hit, and certainly deserved a red. The ref immediately brandished it.

The incident came moments after Lionel Messi had gone in recklessly on Sergio Ramos:

And that Messi challenge came moments after an altercation between Ramos and Luis Suarez that earned both yellow cards.

Despite Roberto’s dismissal, Barcelona held on for a wild, controversial 2-2 draw. After fuming at the referee in the aftermath of the red card, it got multiple favorable calls in the second half, including one that led to Lionel Messi’s goal.

Barca is now three matches away from an unbeaten season.

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Henry Bushnell covers global soccer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Question? Comment? Email him at henrydbushnell@gmail.com, or follow him on Twitter @HenryBushnell, and on Facebook.