Xavi confronts the referee after Barcelona collapse in UCL game against PSG

Xavi remonstrated with the referee following Barcelona's disintegration against PSG in the Champions League, a game in which he was red-carded.

The Barcelona boss stalked referee Istvan Kovacs, who initially walked away from him, around the pitch and made his feelings clear to him and an assistant.

They eventually shook hands after Xavi had vented towards Kovacs on a night dripping with emotion and drama.

Xavi had been given a straight red card after booting some of the padding around the VAR monitor in the second half.

The Barca boss was furious after Vitinha put PSG 2-1 ahead on the night, leading to his outburst.

This was a highly strung night in Barcelona and while Xavi's actions hardly displayed the cerebral leadership needed to negotiate it, they were easy to sympathise with.

Barca had come in with a 3-2 lead from Paris and when Raphinha gave them an early lead, they looked set to make the semi-finals for the first time since 2018/19.

However, Ronald Araujo was sent off after 29 minutes for bowling over Bradley Barcola and that prompted a sea-change in proceedings.

Xavi took off Lamine Yamal  shortly after and the Spanish champions lost a grip on the tie.

Ousmane Dembele made it 1-1 just before half-time and Vitinha gave PSG the lead on the night early in the second half.

Two goals from Kylian Mbappe, the first a penalty, left Barcelona astounded and helped PSG to a 6-4 win and a comeback of gargantuan proportions.