Barcelona head coach Xavi feels that his team was denied a clear penalty in the second half
Barca boss Xavi says that there was a “very clear” penalty in the second half for Barcelona but they were denied that penalty.
Refereeing mistakes irked both coaches
Man United managed an important 2-2 draw at Camp Nou against Barcelona. The Europa League last-16 play-off match boasted high intensity but also had some controversial refereeing decisions as well.
Barcelona head coach chose to talk about some of those decisions following the match. The Catalan coach pointed out an incident late in the match where a ball clearly hit Fred’s hands which were open. Xavi thought it was a “very clear” penalty which they were denied of.
“For me, the penalty is very clear,” he told Movistar+. “I went over to tell the referee that at the end. It was clear. That’s my opinion and I know that won’t change anything.
“The referee said the ball was too close to [Fred’s] body, but for me it’s not. It’s a clear penalty.”
Barcelona’s second goalscorer, Raphinha, who hit a beautiful long range effort was subbed late on in the game but the Brazilian wasn’t at all happy with his substitution. Xavi was asked about Raphinha’s outburst when he was subbed.
“I have to do it for the good of the team,” Xavi said. “I perfectly understand the anger shown by players. I was also angry.
“He has come to apologise to me, but he didn’t have to. We wanted to find a way to win the game and we almost did at the end.”
Despite his anger about the decisions made by the officials, Xavi admitted that it was an even match overall.
“It was a very even match. We played well against a great team,” Xavi said. “We had to work hard. We had the feeling we could have scored a winning goal.
“Old Trafford will now decide it. We go to Manchester with the aim to advance.”
