The Brazil defender has admitted that he did foul his opponent, but insists that the offence took place outside of the penalty area.
Dani Alves has stressed that his foul on Cristiano Ronaldo in Barcelona’s 4-3 La Liga win over Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu was outside the area and that the referee was wrong to award Real Madrid a penalty.
The 30-year-old brought down Ronaldo after 55 minutes of play. Although the incident appeared to occur at least a foot outside of the box, the referee awarded the home side a penalty allowing Ronaldo to put his team 3-2 up.
“I did catch Ronaldo for the penalty, but I immediately realised it was outside the area,” Alves told ESPN Brasil.
“It was a difficult decision for the referee, though. He has to make up his mind in a split-second.”
“In the end, all that matters is that we got the full three points.”
The right-back insists that the Nou Camp outfit will fight to the bitter end as they look to improve on their current third position and win this year’s La Liga title.
“It has been a difficult season for us because Real Madrid and Atlético have been in fine form.”
“It’s not easy when you don’t have matters in your own hand, but I can assure you that we will fight right until the end to retain our title.”
