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Koeman blasts the referee and claims he was sent off because of his 'ATTITUDE'

  /  autty

Ronald Koeman blasted the referee after receiving a red card in Barcelona's 0-0 draw against Cadiz on Thursday night - claiming 'in this country they send you off for nothing'.

The under-fire manager was sent to the stands in the closing stages of the game after venting his frustrations at Sergio Busquets' yellow card.

Barcelona hardly created anything in the second-half after fielding teenagers Paez Gaviria and Yusuf Demir due to a lack of options.

Memphis Depay wasted several opportunities to give his side the lead but apart from that, they lacked any real threat going forward.

The Catalonian side might even deem themselves fortunate to have got the point after Cediz created several chances to take all three points but Marc ter Stegen was equal to everything the home side created.

Speaking after the game, a furious Koeman said: "One of the problems is in Spain they send you off for nothing. They don't say why, they just say attitude. Everyone saw the moment there was a second ball on the pitch. Everyone has to see that.

"I am strong of course. I can't win the battle with the press. I will put my energy into the team and with the players. I still see a fantastic attitude of the players and for me that is most important. I can't stop what the press are writing. We have to continue, that is my job."

It's now the second time this week Koeman's side have dropped points, after the 1-1 draw to Granada on Monday. That follows the Humiliating 3-0 home defeat to Bayern Munich a fortnight ago.

Pressure is growing on the 58-year-old and that was shown through his press-conference earlier in the week. He refused to accept questions from the media and instead chose to read-out a personal statement.

Barca now sit seventh place, seven point behind league leaders Real Madrid, with a game in hand. They will host Levante on Sunday before taking on Benfica in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Related: Barcelona