Barcelona's Frenkie de Jong criticized Dani Carvajal's provocation of Lamine Yamal at the end of an ill-tempered Clásico, which ended with players scuffling on the pitch after the game.
Real Madrid beat Barcelona 2-1 to end a run of four straight Clásico defeats and extend their lead at the top of LaLiga over the Catalan side to five points.
Yamal was jeered throughout the game by Madrid supporters for comments made earlier in the week when he suggested the team benefits from dubious refereeing calls and still complains.
Real Madrid's Carvajal approached Yamal, making a gesture with his hands that appeared to contribute to the clashes between the players.
«If Carvajal wanted to speak to Lamine, he could do so in private,» De Jong told reporters after the game. «If he thinks he shouldn't do things like [make those comments], he could call him. They're teammates [with Spain], they know each other. Why do you have to make a scene on the pitch?»
Yamal had stoked tensions ahead of the game when he appeared on the Kings League's YouTube channel — the seven-a-side competition run by former Barça defender Gerard Piqué — and compared Madrid to one of the teams in the league.
But De Jong said the comments were taken out of context ahead of the game.
«Lamine didn't say that they rob, not directly,» De Jong said. «He's there doing stuff for the Kings League, people are saying things, but I have not heard Lamine saying exactly that.
»I can understand Madrid's players, but the reaction was exaggerated."
It had created a hostile atmosphere toward Yamal at the Santiago Bernabéu, with supporters jeering his name when he was introduced before the match and then whistling his every touch.
«It could be [that], probably a little bit, because
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