Xabi Alonso: "Ronaldo’s red was exaggerated, Gurpegui made the most of it and the crowd influenced the referee"
"It was a very good and intense match, we knew it would be a difficult trip", said the midfielder
Xabi Alonso spoke to the media after the draw against Athletic Bilbao. The midfielder responded to questions about the refereeing performance: "It was not aggression, Cristiano Ronaldo’s red was exaggerated, Gurpegui made the most of it and the crowd influenced the referee throughout the match. This always happens, it's nothing new. Cristiano shouldn’t have done what he did but it is not a sending off, that went against us. We came here with the intention of winning because it was a good opportunity to pick up points in the league but we knew it was going to be a difficult trip".
When asked about refereeing decisions, he said: "It is tough to lose a player unfairly. Cristiano’s sending off was unfair, but I am not going to talk about whether the referee had a good match or not". About the fact that the referee blew the final whistle before a free-kick could be taken, he said: "These things happen, it was not in such a dangerous position that it would have made a difference".