Champions League: Manuel Pellegrini blames referee for Barcelona defeat

Feb 19, 2014
Champions League: Manuel Pellegrini blames referee for Barcelona defeat
Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini said Swedish referee Jonas Eriksson gave Barcelona a big helping hand in their 2-0 victory at Etihad Stadium on Tuesday. The referee awarded the Spanish champions a penalty kick and sent off defender Martin Demichelis in the second half when the score was still 0-0. Pellegrini claimed Eriksson was "not impartial to both teams" and, even if he is right, he might face misconduct charges from UEFA for his comments. Demichelis was sent off for a 54th-minute foul on Lionel Messi, who then converted the penalty kick to hand Barcelona the lead. It might be just a coincidence but the same referee denied Barcelona a clear penalty at AC Milan back in 2012. Pellegrini said a referee that "doesn't have enough experience" should not have been chosen for this game, and claimed Eriksson had "arranged" a mistake he made in Barcelona's Champions League quarter-final against AC Milan in 2012 when he failed to award a penalty despite strong appeals. The Manchester City boss added: "Before the penalty, which was outside the area, there was a foul on Jesus Navas. He didn't control any of the game. I think it was not a good idea to put a referee from Sweden in charge of such an important match, and a referee who made an important mistake against Barcelona in a previous match. Today he arranged it. The more important mistake is the foul against Navas, and secondly the penalty. Contact was outside the box - that is the foul, you cannot continue the foul. The first foul is outside the box. Before the penalty Barcelona did not have chances and we were preparing the way to score." The return leg takes place in the Nou Camp on Wednesday, 12 March, and Manchester City would need a half-miracle to turn things around. If you think they could pull it off though you would make a bunch of money at Bet365 where Manchester City are 20/1 to qualify to the next round compared to Barcelona's 1/66.
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