Raphinha sent off for elbowing opponent in Barcelona's La Liga opener against Getafe | OneFootball

Highlights

Barcelona kicked off their La Liga season on Sunday night, beginning their title defence with a 0-0 draw against Getafe. But their evening was made a lot more difficult thanks to a moment of madness from Raphinha.

The first half of the match followed an expected path with the visitors - Barcelona - dominating possession of the ball, with a few chances being created.

Getafe dug in deep to stay in the game and even managed a couple of efforts on goal of their own, and they would be given a big boost shortly before half-time.

With the ball in the middle of the park, and seemingly no risk of anything too crazy happening, Raphinha decided to do something that no one expected.

Raphinha sent off for moment of madness

With Barca in possession of the ball, and looking to build-up from the defence, the former Leeds man decided to make a run in behind the opposing back-line to provide an option.

While doing so, he happens to run into a Getafe defender in what looked at first glance to be an accidental coming together. This was not the case, however.

Replays showed that the Brazilian had actually deliberately thrown an elbow into the head of his opponent as he clashed with him. It is unclear what was going through his mind at the time.

Perhaps he was frustrated that his attacking run had been noticed and tracked, or maybe he just lost his head completely in the moment. Either way, there is no excuse for the actions he took.

The player in question was Gaston Alvarez, who took a heavy blow to the head in the collision, and his teammates and coaches showed their dismay instantly, with those in the dugout rushing down the touchline.

Raphinha appeared to know he had done wrong and been caught as he was shown a red card by the referee and instead of protesting - as his teammates did- he simply laughed and walked off the pitch.

You can watch the incident for yourselves below. Barcelona manager, Xavi, will no doubt be disappointed with his player.

Ronald Araujo forgets what sport he is playing

Bizarrely, that was not the only mad moment for Barcelona during the first half.

During first-half stoppage time, a big switch of play was aimed out in the direction of Araujo who was playing as the right-back on the night. What was to come next would be yet another surprise to viewers of the match.

The pass was slightly over-hit, but still within reach for the Uruguayan if he had put in the required effort. Instead, he decided to leap in the air and claim the ball like a goalkeeper in the middle third of the pitch.

It was maybe a case of a loss of bearings as the defender may have believed he was off the pitch by the time the ball arrived, and he was merely trying to prevent it getting away so the game could be restarted quickly.

He did raise his arms in apology to his teammates instantly after the incident.

Barcelona denied last minute penalty

In an incident filled game, Getafe then also had a man sent off, as Jaime Mata was shown a second yellow card for a foul.

Barcelona might have then clinched the game late on when Ronald Araujo went down in the penalty area, with VAR intervening to review the incident. However, the referee decided that Gavi had handled the ball inside the area before the incident, denying the Blaugrana a penalty.

A 0-0 draw is tot the ideal start for Barca. Supporters will be hoping that their team can pick up three points when they face Cadiz on Sunday 20th August.