The full-back was sent off in bizarre circumstances early in the second half at the Cornella El Prat - Alba expressed his unhappiness when a goal kick was awarded to Espanyol rather than a corner, to which referee Mateu Lahoz produced a surprising booking.
A few Barca players protested around the official, including Alba who is claimed to have asked why he was being yellow carded, but that just made Lahoz pull out another card for the defender and Luis Enrique's side were down to 10 men.
"The first card was for protesting to the referee because I thought it was a corner," Alba told Canal Plus. "So far, I see why he reacted that way.
"But then I turn away from him and said 'why does this always happen to me?' but not in a derogatory way. It could have harmed the result but fortunately the team worked well.
"I'm a player with a strong character, I know sometimes I'm wrong, but today I do not think I deserved my red card."
After first-half goals from Neymar and Lionel Messi ensured victory for the Liga leaders, Luis Enrique also questioned why Alba was sent off before praising his players for what he thought was a brilliant first 45 minutes against their city rivals.
"Jordi Alba only says 'why always me' to the referee and, unless it was a scary film title or something, I don't see how that was a red card," the coach said.
"Iniesta was the best he's been since the start of the season today. In the first half we dominated all the factors of the game. It was one of best first halves of the campaign.
"In the second half it would have been better if that red card hadn't generated as much controversy. We have five more crucial Liga games to go.
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