Barcelona coach Xavi Hernández expressed frustration over the decision to send off Ronald Araújo as his team faced elimination from the Champions League following a 4-1 loss to Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) at the Olympic Stadium on Tuesday.
Xavi criticised Romanian referee Istvan Kovacs, labelling him a “disaster” and arguing that the red card shown to Araujo for a last-man challenge on Bradley Barcola in the 29th minute, with Barcelona leading 1-0 on the night and 4-2 on aggregate, drastically impacted the quarterfinal outcome.
Despite taking the lead, PSG rallied with a Kylian Mbappé brace and goals from Ousmane Dembélé, making his return to Barcelona, and Vitinha, clinching a 6-4 aggregate victory and securing a semifinal clash against Borussia Dortmund.
“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.
“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 faced further frustration when he was also sent off in the second half for protesting the decision not to award a penalty for a challenge by Marquinhos on Ilkay Gündogan.
Adding to Barça’s woes, goalkeeping coach Jose Ramon de la Fuente was also dismissed as the team lost their composure.
“That was an error by me; it was my fault,” added Xavi, accepting responsibility for his expulsion.
In Tuesday’s match, Barcelona, holding a 3-2 lead from the first leg, extended their advantage to two goals in the tie when Raphinha scored in the 12th minute following excellent teamwork with Lamine Yamal.
However, the game’s momentum shifted just before the half-hour mark when Araújo was shown a red card for allegedly bringing down Barcola just outside the box as he advanced towards goal.
Dembélé and Vitinha scored on either side of halftime to bring PSG level in the tie, with Mbappé putting them ahead from the penalty spot in the 61st minute after a foul by João Cancelo on Dembélé. Despite opportunities for Barcelona to equalise on aggregate, Mbappé sealed the win for PSG with a goal on the counter-attack in the 89th minute.
“We had the chance to equalise with [Gündogan] hitting the post and could even have made it 2-0 before the red card with [Robert Lewandowski’s] shot, which went just over,” Xavi added.
“It’s just a shame that the hard work of an entire season ends because of one refereeing decision. I would have liked it to be 11 vs. 11 for the whole game. It’s an unnecessary red.”
PSG coach Luis Enrique said he believed his side would have progressed to the semifinal even if Araújo had stayed on the pitch.
“I don’t speak about referees,” he said. “I have not seen it back; I just saw it live. In my time as a coach, I have never judged referees. I focus on what I can control.
“We started the game really well and the feeling when they score after a brilliant piece of play from Lamine Yamal is a bit like the first leg. We didn’t deserve to lose last week and we didn’t deserve to be behind tonight.
“But the faith and the belief of the players were exceptional. From there, we grew into the game. Obviously, the red card is a factor, but you still have to know how to play these games and not make mistakes.
“I honestly think without the red card, we still win, although I can’t prove that.”