Mauricio Pochettino hit out at the officials after PSG were knocked out of the Champions League by Real Madrid in dramatic fashion.
With 150 minutes of the tie played, it was the Ligue 1 side who were in control and 2-0 up on aggregate as Kylian Mbappe ran the show at the Bernabeu.
But Karim Benzema scored a hat-trick in 17 minutes as PSG fell apart and suffered another humiliating European comeback, a result that extends their wait for European success and will inevitably lead to questions over their manager’s future.
Real’s comeback started after Gianluigi Donnarumma was caught on the ball, passing it to Vinicius Junior under pressure which led to Benzema finishing from close-range for his first of the night.
The PSG goalkeeper wanted a foul as Benzema closed him down but didn’t get the decision, something that infuriated Pochettino.
“Real’s first goal changed the match,” Pochettino told Canal Plus.
“I wonder what the VAR is doing because for me there is something else. It’s a shame, when you see the action, there’s a foul.
“After that, the match changed. For 60 minutes we dominated, that goal changed everything.
“It’s impossible not to talk about this big mistake made by the referees. It’s hard to accept. It’s incredible that this is happening in 2022.”
PSG president Leonardo was similarly unimpressed with the officiating, though emphasised the need for the club not to just blame the result on that one decision.
"There's a clear foul by Benzema on Donnarumma,” Leonardo told Canal Plus.
“That's clear, it's a mistake - but we need no excuses now, we need to find solutions as soon as possible. We will definitely need some time".
