Lionel Messi produced a moment of magic with his free-kick against Liverpool this week.

The footage of him whipping the ball into the top corner and past Alisson Becker's hand will never get old and will be played in Champions League compilations for years to come.

It was piece de resistance on a successful evening for Barcelona who, despite not playing at their very best, planted one foot in the final by winning 3-0.

It would be unwise to rule out a comeback from Liverpool next week, but Messi's free-kick - the third on the night for Ernesto Valverde's men - looked to have ended the tie.

However, while there was no questioning the quality of the goal, there was definitely some controversy surrounding the award and taking of it.

Messi-Fabinho incident

Images emerged showing that Messi moved the position of the ball forward before his free-kick, a minor observation but something against the rules nonetheless.

Even before that, though, there was debating surrounding the decision to award Barcelona the foul, with Fabinho being booked for unfairly stopping Messi.

Yet, when many Liverpool fans were left unsatisfied when they saw the reply, thinking instead that Messi had hit out at the Brazilian midfielder.

Liverpool fan starts petition

Messi's arm certainly comes up and makes contract with Fabinho, but suggestions of a 'punch' - as many fans have branded it on social media - seem a little extreme.

Try telling that to one Liverpool fan, though. After the incident, an entire Change.org petition has been created to try and get Messi banned for the 'punch.'

Created by the user 'MessiAFraud', it has remarkably reached its target of 5,000 signatories and has been directly address to both UEFA and the Champions League itself.

The description reads: "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."

However plenty of football fans have retaliated against the petition and it seems 'MessiAFraud' has been forced to defend against the 'haters.'

Responding to criticism on the website, they wrote: "Listen, if this was say, Mo Salah every other fan would call him out on e.g. like against Porto which was not intentional and not able to be sanctioned after the game, in this incident VAR should have been used."

Not everybody is convinced with their argument, though, with one comment reading: "Quite possibly the saddest thing I've ever seen. Seriously, get a life you sad sack." 

Another one states: "I just wanted to sign so that I could let you all know how utterly embarrassing this is. I'm a Liverpool fan and seeing this moaning nonsense makes me want to puke. Thanks."

Say what you like about the petition, but it certainly seems like something of a stretch and it definitely isn't a good look for the support-base ahead of the second leg.

That being said, Messi being banned would certainly help the Liverpool cause...

Do you think Liverpool can still qualify for the final? Have your say in the comments section below.