Barça coach Valverde laments Las Palmas' "invisible penalty"

Ernesto Valverde couldn't hide his disappointment in his post game press conference after Barcelona drew with Las Palmas. The coach admitted his side weren't at their best, although he also complained about the penalty given by referee Mateu Lahoz. 

"We were motivated to get the three points. We knew [Las Palmas] were in a tough situation and we wanted to take advantage of it. In the first half we tried to get close to their goal. And even more so as they were picking up more and more bookings, but we didn't have a big enough lead at the break," Valverde said. 

During the break, Valverde spoke with referee Lahoz about Las Palmas goalkeeper's Chichizola handball outside the area: "I spoke with [Lahoz] at half-time. It was a clear handball outside the area and he’s not seen it. For me it was clear, although I imagine it was different for [Las Palmas coach Paco] Jemez." 

Things got worse after the break when Lahoz gave a penalty to the home side, which ultimately earned them a 1-1 draw. However, Valverde said he didn't know why the penalty was given. 

“We don’t know what the referee gave the penalty for,” Valverde added. “In the dressing room, no one knows. We don’t understand what he’s blown for, it’s unexplainable. 

“Maybe when we see it on the television it will clear up what the decision was for. It was an invisible penalty. It did us a lot of damage -- for how it was given and the sensation it left us with."  

Lahoz's decision was either for a handball by Lucas Digne or a foul by Sergi Roberto, but no one was sure at first and even the Las Palmas players didn't appeal for anything.