Liverpool fans are incensed that Lionel Messi appeared to 'punch' Fabinho before scoring his magnificent free kick on Wednesday night - to the extent one supporter has started an online petition asking UEFA to charge the Barcelona star.
Messi scored twice as Barca beat Liverpool 3-0 at the Nou Camp in their Champions League semi-final first leg.
The second, his 600th club goal, was one of his best ever strikes - a 30-yard free kick into the top corner. However, a video posted to Twitter appears to call into question whether the set piece should have been given.
Scroll down for video.
In the incident leading up to the free kick, a television angle from behind Messi shows him colliding with Fabinho, which referee Bjorn Kuipers gave as a foul against the Liverpool midfielder for blocking off the Argentine as he played a one-two with Luis Suarez.
However, the replay seems to show that Messi aims a punch at Fabinho's head, before falling to the floor and being given the free kick.
Despite Fabinho clearly being in pain from the strike, crouching and holding his head, Kuipers gave him a yellow card.
The pain was doubled when Messi brilliantly fired the free kick past the despairing dive of goalkeeper Alisson to all but confirm Barca's place in the Champions League final.
While replays, slowed down and from multiple angles, can often be misleading, this has been used as evidence by enraged Reds fans that their team has been hard done by.
The calls for retrospective action have reached the stage where one fan, Callum Brydges, has launched a petition on change.org aimed at UEFA and the Champions League.
It is titled: 'Get Messi a retrospective ban for clearly punching Fabinho in the head', and at the time of writing had reached the landmark of 100 signatures.
The petition reads: 'So basically Messi gets a free kick for punching Fabinho in the head and scores it, I feel like this needs to be looked at by UEFA.'
Whether or not Messi faces action, Liverpool face a tough task to overturn the first leg deficit when they host Barca in the return game at Anfield next Tuesday.
Demiadd
563
These salty fans ๐๐๐๐ canโt take defeat gracefully. They actually think Uefa is gona ban Messi or any other player for that lol theyโre more pathetic than I thought. They didnโt ban Ramos wen yโall made a petition for it. ๐๐๐ jus ask epl to ban the whole man city squad to u can win the league then ask uefa to ban Barca, Ajax n Tottenham so u automatically win the ucl
Ngaopunidarcula
247
Liverpool fans will always sign petition even though they hurt themself same happen to last year too worst fans n most funny Becoz it has being long they haven't won a trophy so they have nothing to do that's y started talking nonsense
SINGAM23
143
No matter how so many Complaints tabled up by anyone in the world... no one would ever believe in such cases !!! (according to Barcelona and it's Fans, the answer is very simple: "Messi is GOD & Camp Nou is Temple")
zuucemopry
81
UEFA can bridge the referees before sending them to referee the game in interest of the Spanish people. But the English people should take serious action against Messi enigmatical foul. And If UEFA doesn't do anything about it, English people should withdraw from UEFA next season.
jomaeotu
14
These salty fans ๐๐๐๐ canโt take defeat gracefully. They actually think Uefa is gona ban Messi or any other player for that lol theyโre more pathetic than I thought. They didnโt ban Ramos wen yโall made a petition for it. ๐๐๐ jus ask epl to ban the whole man city squad to u can win the league then ask uefa to ban Barca, Ajax n Tottenham so u automatically win the ucl
if they can fill a petition then we can too. A petition for Milner, Fabinho, Matip Fouling Messi,Allison trying to injure Suarez, Mane trying to slap Vidal! These Liverpool fans just can't take a defeat!๐๐๐
Woobekmry
9
UEFA can bridge the referees before sending them to referee the game in interest of the Spanish people. But the English people should take serious action against Messi enigmatical foul. And If UEFA doesn't do anything about it, English people should withdraw from UEFA next season.
sadio mane Slapped Arturo Vidal
eloksjoseph
8
UEFA can bridge the referees before sending them to referee the game in interest of the Spanish people. But the English people should take serious action against Messi enigmatical foul. And If UEFA doesn't do anything about it, English people should withdraw from UEFA next season.
stick to your Thursday night football [byebye]