Rodriguez admits to handball

Espanyol’s Raul Rodriguez has admitted that he handled the ball during his side’s 1-1 draw against Barcelona in La Liga on Sunday.

The match heated up in the last minutes as Rodriguez blocked Pedro’s shot with his hand – an infraction which would have earned the defender his second yellow of the match and Barca a penalty.

“The ball hit me in the hand, but I am not the referee,” Rodriguez told Marca.

“I think that many things happened during the 90 minutes to sum up the match to that one play.”

Regardless, Rodriguez emphasised the importance of the result, but noted that holding their Catalan rivals to a draw did not have any special meaning.

“The team has become stronger (after this draw),” he added. “It is more important that we have gained one point, not that Barca have dropped two.”