“There was no one else to blame but him ‘ he ruined all our work, it was a disaster, that shouldn’t have been a red card” – FC Barcelona Manager Xavi publicly hit on Referee as cause of
Barcelona’s head coach, Xavi, blamed referee Istvan Kovacs for the club’s Champions League relegation, citing Ronald Araújo’s unwarranted red card.
The Spanish team’s elimination from Europe after a humiliating loss against French superpower Paris Saint-Germain.
Raphinha’s early goal gave them a 4-2 aggregate lead, but the game changed drastically after Araújo’s suspension.
Araújo’s red card for a last-man tackle on Bradley Barcola turned the game in PSG’s advantage.
The French seized on their numerical advantage, scoring four goals to go to the Champions League semi-finals.
Xavi criticized referee Kovacs at the post-match news conference at Montjuïc. He continually stressed the negative effect of Araújo’s red card on the result of the match.
“I informed the referee that he was quite terrible. It was disastrous. Giving a red card for that is excessive. It is a tremendous shame. The referee wrecked all of our efforts this season. “I wanted to play 11 against 11 fairly.”
Xavi expressed dissatisfaction with the referee’s ruling, claiming it significantly impacted the flow of the game.
He regretted not being able to play with a full complement of players, claiming that competing with 10 guys is practically impossible at this level.
Xavi stressed his desire for a fair game and expressed unhappiness with the referee’s involvement in determining the result.
Xavi expressed dissatisfaction with referee Kovacs’ decision to dismiss Araújo, citing an unfair influence on Barcelona’s Champions League hopes.
He emphasized the necessity of playing as a whole team and voiced dissatisfaction with the referee’s effect on the match result.
