In the final moments, Griezmann received De Jong's through ball and scored Barca's last goal.
The final whistle blew.
The entire Santiago Bernabeu Stadium erupted in boos.
The 0–6 scoreline was too much for Real Madrid's fans to accept.
Looking back through Real Madrid's history, the last time they conceded six goals at home was during the 1950–51 Madrid derby, when they lost 3–6 to Atletico Madrid.
At least Real Madrid had scored three goals in that match.
Today's match had utterly nailed Real Madrid to the pillar of shame.
Of course, two others were nailed to that pillar as well: Marcelo, who had injured Messi and forced him off, and Ramos, Real Madrid's captain, who had also left the pitch injured.
According to reports after the match, Messi's injury wasn't serious. Since the leg that had been tackled wasn't his supporting leg, he had only suffered a minor ligament tear. Still, Messi would need at least three weeks to recover and might even miss the crucial match against Atletico Madrid.
Less than two hours after the match ended, the Royal Spanish Football Federation announced the penalties resulting from the incident.
A €100,000 fine.
An eight-match ban from domestic competitions.
In other words, Marcelo's La Liga season was over. However, he could still play in Real Madrid's remaining Champions League matches.
Marcelo had just returned from an earlier injury, and this was his first match back. Then a red card once again thrust both him and Real Madrid into the eye of a media storm.
The other person at the center of the controversy was Ramos.
After the match, doctors found that Ramos had severely torn the Achilles tendon in his left foot. His season was effectively over.
After the match, almost every commentator began analyzing Ramos's injury.
Even after the footage was reconstructed frame by frame, it was hard to tell whether Li Mingyu's step had been deliberate.
After all, Ramos had deliberately kicked backward in a foul of his own. Li Mingyu had jumped slightly to avoid the kick, then landed right on Ramos's Achilles tendon.
Even Real Madrid's commentators could only describe Ramos's injury as fate.
But what happened next sent shockwaves through Spanish football.
Racism.
It was one of the most sensitive topics in the world, especially in the West.
Three hours after the match ended, a recording set the internet ablaze.
"Hey, kid!"
"Are you talking to me?"
"Yellow monkey, watch yourself in the second half. Don't get too cocky!"
The recording was only ten seconds long, and the exchange consisted of just three sentences. But its contents sent shockwaves through Spanish football.
Ramos had actually said something like that—and someone had recorded him.
Real Madrid was immediately caught in a media storm.
In the chairman's office at Real Madrid.
Florentino furiously hurled his favorite cup to the floor. Glaring at the trembling team manager before him, he snarled, "Go. I don't care what it takes—get this buried immediately. Real Madrid can't have a problem like this!"
The team manager hurried out of the chairman's office.
Florentino stood by the window, looking out at the stadium. Anger flashed in his eyes.
Real Madrid's public relations team pulled every string they could to try to bury the story. After all, Real Madrid had an important Champions League quarter-final in three days.
They questioned whether the recording was genuine.
They suggested that someone might have edited it.
Ramos was interviewed by the media at the hospital. He declared with absolute certainty, "I have never been a racist, so there's no way those words came out of my mouth. I suspect someone is trying to smear me!"
When reporters went to Barca's training ground to interview Li Mingyu, the other person involved, the club refused to let them speak with him.
For a while, it seemed possible that public opinion might turn around.
But early the next morning, the Spanish Referees Association released a recording made by the referee on the pitch.
"Yellow monkey, I see you're not very well-behaved. Be careful later. Don't give me an excuse!"
"I'll remember what you said!"
Those two short sentences completely ignited everyone's fury.
The evidence was conclusive.
The referee's microphone had recorded the exchange. He had been standing not far from Ramos at the time.
While reviewing the match afterward, the referee had discovered the exchange and immediately submitted the recording.
A former Spanish referee, who declined to give his name, spoke bluntly during a television appearance: "Almost all La Liga referees are fans of either Real Madrid or Barcelona. You become a referee because you love football, and if you love football, I don't think there's anyone who doesn't support a team. These two clubs are the most successful. But that doesn't mean their fans can't officiate matches professionally."
The former referee gave a clear estimate: "Ninety percent support Real Madrid, and ten percent support Barcelona."
And Gonzalez, the referee in this match, happened to be a Barcelona fan.
So when he got hold of the recording, he submitted it to the Referees Association without hesitation.
As a result, the matter was officially classified as racism.
Racism was a very common phenomenon in Western society.
But in Western countries, it was also a major taboo.
To put it simply, it was something people could do but not say.
Ramos had said it out loud—and been caught. There was no getting around that.
The Royal Spanish Football Federation promptly issued another disciplinary notice.
Ramos was fined €200,000 and banned for ten matches.
The ruling stunned all of Spanish football and even the entire European football world.
It was the harshest punishment for racism in recent years.
In 2011 and 2012, two high-profile cases of racism had occurred in quick succession.
In one, Suarez had racially abused Evra and was ultimately given an eight-match ban and fined £40,000.
In the other, Terry had racially abused Anton Ferdinand and was ultimately given a four-match ban and fined £220,000.
As racism grew increasingly rampant, UEFA finally began formulating a plan to punish it in 2013.
Any player or club official who racially abused another person would receive a ban of at least ten matches.
Since the plan was introduced, racism had become much less common—or at least, people weren't getting caught.
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