4 weeks ago
Xavi said Romanian referee Istvan Kovacs was a “disaster” following Barcelona’s ouster from the UEFA Champions League.
A Kylian Mbappé brace and goals from Ousmane Dembélé, on his return to Barcelona, and Vitinha sealed a 4-1 win for PSG and 6-4 on aggregate.
Raphinha had given Barcelona the lead but all that changed as Araujo was shown a straight red card for a last-man challenge on Bradley Barcola.
“We are annoyed,” Xavi said. “The red card marked the tie. We were well organised 11 vs. 11. It completely changed everything. For me, it’s too much to send [Araújo] off there.
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“The referee was really bad. I told him, he was a disaster. He killed the tie. I don’t like speaking about referees but it has to be said. I don’t understand it.
“It’s not good going down to 10 players and from that point on it’s another game. For as much as we speak [about the match], the red card marks everything.”
Xavi was also sent off in the second half for protesting the decision not to give a penalty for a Marquinhos challenge on Ilkay Gündogan.
Barcelona goalkeeping coach Jose Ramon de la Fuente was also dismissed.
“That was an error by me, it was my fault,” added Xavi, accepting responsibility for his expulsion.
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