Barcelona manager Xavi was shown a straight red card for kicking a camera stand, sponsored by the Champions League, during his side’s clash with Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday night. The manager was left furious by a refereeing decision in the build-up to an attack and failed to keep a lid on his emotions.
Barca headed into the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final leg with a 3-2 leg after an impressive win at the Parc des Princes, and Raphinha’s goal after 11 minutes looked set to put the game to bed.
However, the game was thrown wide open in the 29th minute when Ronald Araujo was shown a straight red card by referee Istvan Kovacs after dragging Bradley Barcola to the ground as he looked to break into the penalty area.
An equaliser from Ousmane Dembele and fierce strike from Vitinha then levelled the tie, with Barca left with no choice but to tamely try and weather the storm. The Catalan giants then appeared to craft open a chance against the run of play when Ilkay Gundogan made his way into the PSG box before going down under minimal contact.
The ex-Manchester City star’s appeals were immediately waved away, much to the frustration of Xaxi. The former midfielder, who was also aggravated by a refereeing decision in the build-up, then bursted into a fit of rage, aggressively pleading his case to the fourth official before kicking a camera stand.
Kovacs was left with no choice but to give Xavi his marching orders, and things went from bad to worse just five minutes later when Joao Cancelo clumsily brought down Dembele inside the penalty area. Kylian Mbappe made no mistake from the spot, and Barca thanks that the France international’s iconic celebration does not become a familiar sight in the La Liga next season.
