Paris Saint-Germain President Nasser Al-Khelaifi has slammed the referee in his side’s Champions League defeat to Barcelona on Wednesday.
In a candid interview with Le Parisien, Al-Khelaifi made it clear PSG would be sticking with Coach Unai Emery and that Angel Di Maria should have been awarded a penalty by Deniz Aytekin, whereas “there wasn’t one” on Luis Suarez.
“He works hard every day to make progress with this team,” began the Qatari.
“We must now draw all the lessons from this failure and not react impulsively.
“Unai has qualities that we believe in, and he has all my support.
“We’ll discuss the changes that will be necessary, but the strength of a great club is their ability to keep a cool head and be united in difficult times.
“The Champions League? I feel a mixture of sadness and anger, but what happened won’t stop us from being ambitious, it should make us be stronger.
“You can’t help but think that the result could’ve been different with more clairvoyant refereeing.
“Everyone saw the penalty on Di Maria, which could’ve allowed us to make it 3-2 and end without doubt with all the suspense, without forgetting that there wasn’t one on Suarez.
“Players don’t judge a club on a single game. They look at a project in its entirety.
“We have a great team and magnificent stadium, with an atmosphere that’s always getting better.”
