David Villa has condoned the tackle on Messi. Villa and Messi helped the Catalan giants to a 2-1 win over Atletico Madrid at the Vicente Calderon Stadium at the weekend but the visitors paid a huge price for their victory when Ujfalusi lunged into a wild tackle which left the Argentine forward with a suspected ankle break.

The Czech Republic defender got a red card for his foolish challenge which left the Barca players and officials seething, worried that Messi had broken his ankle.

Speaking to AS after the match, Villa slammed his opponent his actions. He said: “There is a committee that decides, and when they see the pictures he [Ujfalusi] is sure to receive the punishment he deserves, because the challenge is brutal and he should not be proud of what he has done.

“The punishment must set a precedent that will make a player think twice before doing something similar.”