On Tuesday night’s second leg of Barcelona’s Champions League quarterfinal match against Paris Saint-Germain, head coach Xavi criticized referee Istvan Kovacs’ performance.
With a 3-2 lead from the first leg, the La Liga winners went into the matchup with a 4-2 lead when Raphinha scored in the match’s twelfth minute at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys.
But after Ronald Araujo was controversially sent off in the 29th minute for allegedly fouling Bradley Barcola, PSG won 4-1 on the evening and advanced to the semifinals with a 6-4 aggregate victory. Kylian Mbappe scored twice in the PSG victory.
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Kovacs also showed red cards to Xavi and his goalkeeping coach during the second half, and the Barcelona head coach has been very critical of the referee’s work.
“The referee performed terribly. I informed him that his performance was appalling. Although Xavi dislikes discussing referees, he told Movistar Plus that they had a noticeable impact on the season.
“We are very upset and angry because the red card was the decisive factor in the match. With 11, we were in a good position, playing well and in command.
“It’s too much to flash a red card in a game like this. There was another game after that… it is a pity that the work of the season was ruined by an unnecessary expulsion.”
While Xavi maintained that Barcelona “will be back,” he is still getting ready to step down as the team’s head coach at the conclusion of the 2023–2024 season.
“We performed admirably in the Champions League, if I may say so. We need to get better at managing the little things. We’ll be back here next year.
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