Shocking: Messi Dives Against Osasuna And Then Urges Referee Not To Give Free-Kick 1

Lionel Messi was in fine form as Barcelona beat bottom-placed Osasuna 3-0 to put the pressure on Real Madrid at the top of the La Liga table.

The win brought Barcelona to within three points of their El Clasico rivals, with Madrid not playing until Saturday evening against Deportivo.

Luis Enrique’s side were frustrated in the first-half against Osasuna as both Messi and Luis Suarez missed golden opportunities to put their side ahead. The best of those chances came after an exquisite through ball from Messi with the outside of his left foot, only for Suarez to screw his shot side.

But Barcelona got the breakthrough after the interval. Suarez tapped in from a Jordi Alba cross before Messi bagged himself a brace – the second coming after he mesmerised the Osasuna defence.

But there was a moment in the second-half that you may have missed that showed Messi’s class – and we don’t mean his football ability.

The Argentine superstar was running with the ball and went to ground far too easily, anticipating a touch from an opponent. It was a clear dive but if thought that Messi wanted a free-kick, think again.

He immediately wagged his finger towards to referee to quickly tell him not to give a free-kick.


The referee heeded Messi’s advice and allowed play to continue. It’s exactly the sort of thing we want to see in football, no diving, no cheating, just fair play and Twitter reacted to praise Messi for his brilliant sportsmanship. Take a look at the best reaction: