PSG Hierarchy Blasts UEFA Over Refereeing After Defeat to Real Madrid
Paris Saint-Germain's hierarchy have criticized UEFA's choice of referee after they fell to a 3-1 Champions League last 16 first leg defeat to Real Madrid.
PSG boss Unai Emery was quoted by Sport as he hit out at Italian match official Gianluca Rocchi for failing to give his side a penalty for an apparent handball by Los Blancos captain Sergio Ramos.
His comments were followed by chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi, who was also left spitting feathers over Rocchi's performance as he told ESPN that UEFA 'must do something' about their choice of referees amid controversy surrounding their match and last season's loss to Barcelona.
Emery - who sparked cries of delusion when he said his side 'dominated' the right flank after Thomas Meunier's introduction in the second half - explained how his team may have won the contest if they had had a more 'balanced' ref in charge.
He said: "It was a pity we didn't go into the break with the lead but these small actions from the referees did not help us.
"If you blow for the first penalty (a foul by Giovani Lo Celso on Toni Kroos) you have to blow for handball (by Ramos) too. We were playing with the aim of scoring a second, we found another refereeing action, a possible foul before the 2-1.
"If the referee was more balanced with both teams we would have been close to a draw or even a victory.
"We leave with the idea that we played a great game, but we got a bad result. Playing like this we can come back, but if the refereeing decisions continue like this, it will be harder."
Al-Khelaifi backed up his manager's harsh words by laying into Rocchi and UEFA further as he blasted the duo for supposed bias towards La Liga's giants.
He remarked: "We can also speak about the referee. Two yellow cards, which were not, and an offside against Kylian (Mbappe) that was also incorrect. The small things, such as these, can also make the difference against big teams like Real. It was not solely because of this but it helped Real, of course.
"Last year, in Barcelona, the referee. Today, again, the referee. I think that UEFA have to do something."
