Xavi was left furious after Barcelona crashed out of the Champions League against Paris Saint-Germain (Picture: Getty)
Arsenal fans reminded Xavi that what goes around comes around after the Barcelona manager was left fuming following Barcelona’s acrimonious Champions League exit.
The Catalan giants looked destined for the semi-finals when Raphinha’s early goal extended their aggregate advantage.
A pulsating tie turned, however, shortly before the half hour mark when Ronald Araujo was dismissed for what was deemed a professional foul by referee Istvan Kovacs.
PSG made their numerical advantage count 10 minutes after the restart through Vitinha’s long-range strike and two Kylian Mbappe goals, one from the penalty spot, put the gloss on a thumping win for the Ligue 1 giants.
‘The referee was really bad,’ said the furious Barcelona manager after the game. ‘I told him his performance was a disaster,’
‘I don’t like to talk about referees, but it had a clear impact in the season and it has to be said. The referee was really bad. I told him his performance was a disaster,’ said Xavi.
‘I don’t like to talk about referees, but it had a clear impact in the season and it has to be said.’
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Robin van Persie was infamously sent off in a Champions League tie between Arsenal and Barcelona (Picture: Getty)
Barcelona and Xavi’s downfall was lapped up by gleeful Arsenal fans who recalled how the club legend benefited from one of the most contentious refereeing decisions in Champions League history back in 2011.
With the Gunners headed for a famous victory, Robin van Persie was infamously given his marching orders to supposed timewasting when he failed to hear the official’s whistle and shot towards goal despite having been adjudged to be standing in an offside position.
Xavi felt no sympathy for Arsenal at the time, saying: ‘Well, I think he could’ve been sent off before, right? Because of the aggression [to Dani Alves].
‘Then the referee decided that the ball should’ve been in Barca’s possession at the time and he shot it out of bounds so that’s it.
‘That’s what the football rules and regulations are for. It helped us to dominate the game even more but we were already doing it when it was 11v11.’
Kylian Mbappe scored twice in PSG’s Champions League win over Barcelona (Picture: Getty)
Given that bitter experience, Arsenal fans were thrilled to see the boot on the other foot as Xavi’s hopes of ending his Barcelona reign on a major high went up in smoke.
‘Van Persie never deserved a red card too,’ wrote one fan on X.’Xavi was in that game. He felt the referee was fair. What goes around comes around.
‘Remember Van Persie getting sent off against Barcelona, as Arsenal were adding pressure, for kicking a ball after the ref blew his whistle?’ recalled another fan ‘I don’t remember Xavi complain. Even Mourinho sided with Arsenal after that call.’
Ronald Araujo’s red card sparked Barcelona’s collapse against PSG (Picture: Getty)
Arsenal, meanwhile, are back in action tonight hoping to reach the semi-finals for the first time since 2009, but it will take a heroic performance with the tie against Bayern Munich evenly poised at 2-2.
When asked what he wants to see tonight, the Arsenal boss said:’A performance that puts us in the Champions League semi-final. All the preparation has been to achieve that, and earn it.
‘We have been ready for 10 months and everything we did last season to start that journey in the Champions League after so many years, and tomorrow we have an unbelievable opportunity to make it happen.
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‘We didn’t lose anything last year because we didn’t win anything. First of all, you have to win it and then maybe you can lose it. What we had is an unbelievable journey against the best team in the world here and in Europe in the last seven years.
‘This is where we want to be and we are not satisfied. We want to be better and that is the level that we are competing, so we will try again our best until the last day trying to win those cups and to be successful.
‘It will be unbelievable. If we make it happen tomorrow, we are in the semi-final, and we will be in a really highly emotional state – it’s something that we haven’t achieved as a club for the last 15-17 years and that’s the opportunity.’
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