Xavi points finger at referee after Champions League exit
The Barcelona manager blamed the referee for his team's elimination.
Barcelona's chances of moving on in the Champions League were shattered on Tuesday night when they lost to Paris Saint-Germain 6-4 on aggregate.
Xavi blamed the referee for his team's exit from the competition.
The manager feels that Araujo's unnecessary dismissal was a turning point in the match since it tipped the odds significantly in the visitors' favour.
As reported by Fabrizio Romano on his X account, the manager was hugely disappointed with the performance of the referee at Camp Nou.
Xavi said, as quoted by Romano:
“It’s pointless to discuss about the game… the referee destroyed it all”.
“We can’t stay silent. He changed the game and the entire tie. It was a disaster”.
When it came to the match, referee Istvan Kovacs was the centre of attention.
He issued twelve cards in all, three of which were red, including the one given to Xavi for angrily objecting to a call that denied Barcelona a penalty when Marquinhos took down Ilkay Gundogan.
Jose Ramon de la Fuente, the goalkeeping coach, was also given red for constantly losing his composure.
At the final whistle, players on the field were distraught, Barcelona fans inconsolable, and Xavi comforting his squad in the wake of their loss.
With their huge La Liga matchup against rivals Real Madrid on Sunday at the Santiago Bernabeu, Xavi won't have much time to mourn their European demise.
The Catalans are trailing their arch rivals by eight points in the league, with seven games to go.
A win against Real Madrid at the weekend will close the gap to five points, making the title race in La Liga exciting in the last round of matches.
Meanwhile, Barcelona are looking at their options to replace Xavi at the end of the season.