‘He was a disaster’: Xavi accuses referee of ‘killing’ the tie after Barcelona’s UCL defeat to PSG

Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez has slammed the referee after his team lost the quarterfinal second-leg tie against Paris Saint-Germain to crash out of the continental tournament. The referee, Istvan Kovacs, brandished 12 cards during the match, including three red cards, which took the focus away from an unbelievable European comeback by PSG. 

Xavi was particularly angry about the red card shown to defender Ronald Araujo in the 29th minute when Barcelona were leading the tie with a two-goal margin. 

"We are annoyed. 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 [Araujo] off there," said Xavi. 

"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."

After Araujo was sent off, a 10-men Barcelona team struggled to make clear-cut chances and were forced to retreat and defend. PSG kept coming up with wave after wave of attacks and ultimately opened the scoring in the 40th minute, courtesy of Ousmane Dembele. 

Also read | Champions League: Kylian Mbappe brace helps PSG beat 10-man Barca to reach semis; Dortmund down Atletico

Would've liked to play 11 v 11

The problems were compounded for the five-time champions as Vitinsha scored from a long-range effort, nine minutes into the second half before Kylian Mbappe put the game to bed with a brace. Eventually, PSG won the tie 6-4 on aggregate, leaving Barcelona with another heartbreaking exit from the knockout stages. 

Xavi also received a red card for protesting a penalty decision not going his team's way when Ilkay Gundogan was brought down in the penalty box by Marquinhos. Meanwhile, Barce goalkeeping coach Jose Ramon de la Fuente was also shown red as he kept losing his cool.

"That was an error by me, it was my fault. But it is a shame that all the work of a season, because of a refereeing decision, finishes here. I would have liked to have played 11 v 11 against Luis Enrique and PSG [for] all the minutes of the game," added Xavi. 

Xavi will be stepping down as the Barcelona manager at the end of the season. The only chance for him to have a trophy in his final dance now lies in La Liga where Barcelona are trailing Real Madrid by eight points in the second spot. The two rivals go toe-to-toe against each other in the El Clasico on Sunday (Apr 21).  

(With inputs from agencies)