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What's the story?
Barcelona fans have hilariously responded to Liverpool supporters' attempt to ban Lionel Messi for allegedly 'punching' midfielder Fabinho during the first leg of their Champions League semi-final fixture.
In case you didn't know
Earlier this week, Liverpool fans set up a petition called 'Get Messi a retrospective ban for clearly punching Fabinho in the head', demanding the UEFA to ban the Barcelona captain for the alleged challenge.
The petition read, "So basically Messi gets a free-kick for punching Fabinho in the head and scores it, I feel like this needs to be looked at by UEFA." It has since gone viral on social media and has amassed over 11,000 signatures.
The Catalan giants established a thumping 3-0 win over the Reds in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final on Wednesday night, earning a crucial advantage for themselves before the closing leg.
Former Liverpool favourite Luis Suarez and Messi found the back of the net during the game to condemn the Premier League side to a difficult task in their next clash. The Uruguayan, who was seen wildly celebrating his goal against his former club, was slammed for being 'desrespectful' by a section of Reds fans.
The heart of the matter
Barcelona fans have now responded to the petition in the exact same way: by setting up a petition to ban Liverpool forward Sadio Mane for 'slapping' Arturo Vidal.
The petition reads, "Sadio Mane should get a ban for the second leg of Semi-finals as he slapped Arturo Vidal for no reason!" and has amassed over 4000 signatures so far.
What's next?
Jurgen Klopp's men will play host to the La Liga champions in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final fixture on May 7, and will hope for a miracle at Anfield to progress to their second consecutive European final.
