Sergio Ramos has stated that his applause after being sent off in Real Madrid's El Casico defeat was to Barcelona defender Gerard Pique and not the match referee.

Ramos was handed a straight red card following a reckless two-footed lunge on Lionel Messi with 13 minutes to play at the Bernabeu.

But the Madrid defender didn't leave the field quietly, confronting referee Alejandro Hernandez then Pique which could now lead to the Spaniard picking up an extended ban.

The 31-year-old was seen giving the thumbs up to his Barca counterpart before applauding towards the field moments before departing down the tunnel.

'I did not applaud the referee when I walked off. I was talking to Pique, not to the referee,' he said.

'The red card was excessive. I was not going to harm anyone. In my opinion, that was a yellow card, not a red. I was too late, but there was no contact.

'Referees can be right and sometimes they are wrong. This one was decisive. But I was chatting to Pique, not the referee.'

Rules in Spain dictate that dissent shown towards a match official can result in an increased suspension, with Neymar having had the book thrown at him following a similar incident.

The Barcelona forward missed Barca's 3-2 win on Sunday having been hit with a two-match extended ban having applauded the fourth official following his red card in a game against Malaga.

Barcelona's victory boosts their chances of retaining the Spanish league title after going top of the table but rivals Real still have a game in hand on Luis Enrique's outfit.