Barcelona manager Xavi was sent off against Paris Saint-Germain for kicking a TV advertising hoarding up in the air.
The Catalans were thrown into disarray in their Champions League quarter-final second-leg encounter at home on Tuesday night, despite being two goals up at one point on aggregate. Their 3-2 advantage from the first-leg was boosted by Raphinha's opener just 12 minutes into the affair.
But a Ronald Araujo red card before half-time sparked a spectacular meltdown which saw PSG respond with three goals of their own. The Blaugrana manager was livid at the scenes on display - and a refereeing decision saw him unleash his wrath on a piece of equipment next to one of the pitch-side cameras.
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SkyXavi, with his side a man down and tied 4-4 on aggregate at the time, reacted by throwing his arms up, booting the hoarding into the air and gesturing aggressively at the official. He was immediately given his marching orders by referee Istvan Kovacs, before watching on from one of the stadium's hospitality boxes.
Fans were in hysterics at the wild display, taking to social media to joke: "Xavi getting sent off as Barcelona manager for almost booting some TV equipment while wearing a Stone Island jumper is not the story arc we imagined for him 10 years ago."
Another pointed out: "Xavi took off his jacket to reveal the Stone island jumper in order to intimidate the referee after his Red card," and a third added: "For someone who was so level-headed as a player, Xavi has been sent off too much for his erratic behaviour as a coach."
The Romanian international referee certainly had an eventful night managing (or struggling) to cope with what will go down as a European classic. The chaotic end-to-end game initially saw some wonderful wing play from 16-year-old Lamine Yamal set up Raphinha, who guided the ball in with his shin.
But Araujo uncharacteristically sabotaged his team by giving the ball away and fouling Bradley Barcola, who was clean through on goal., as the last man. The Uruguayan defender was shown an instant red despite his complaints, and was lucky to only give away a free-kick and not a penalty.
Former Culé Ousmane Dembele pulled one back against his former club before half-time, before a spectacular effort from Vitinha levelled the tie on aggregate.
Things went from bad to worse after Xavi's red as Joao Cancelo recklessly brought down Dembele in the box on the hour mark, with Kylian Mbappe netting from the penalty spot.
Barcelona had their own penalty shout dismissed minutes later as the mood inside the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys became one of devastation. The referee's card-fest continued and Mbappe sealed a 4-1 win (6-4 aggregate), turning a rebounded effort in after a swift counter in the 89th minute.
Xavi did not appear much more settled post-match, blasting the official's display by saying: “It’s a pity, our Champions League is over due to the referee’s mistake.
"I just told the referee that he’s been a disaster. It’s the reality”.
