Former Premier League official Dermot Gallagher has claimed that the referee in Saturday's El Clasico could have avoided sending off Real Madrid defender Dani Carvajal.

During the second half at the Bernabeu, Carvajal was dismissed for handball on the line and a penalty was awarded, despite Barcelona finding the back of the net directly after the incident.

Lionel Messi scored from the resulting spot kick, but Gallagher has suggested that any possible controversy could have been avoided had the referee taken longer to make his decision.

Gallagher told Sky Sports News: "If he had just waited one second because the ball was always going towards the line, then the referee could have given the goal and kept the player on.

"It is a massive gamble, let's be honest, as in a massive game like that, if that suddenly spins wide, but you could argue that you were just delaying to see what happened. But if he had just waited that one second, because there is no rush to give a penalty or the red card, he always had that time. And it is amazing that in that one second the whole situation for the referee had changed."

Barcelona would go on to prevail by a 3-0 scoreline, a result which establishes a 14-point advantage over their rivals in the league table.