PSG have crashed out of the UEFA Champions League, with the French giants losing 2-0 at Man City in the second leg of their semi-final showdown after, according to many who watched the fixture, losing their heads. However, after the full-time whistle had been blown, it was Pochettino's men who felt they had been served injustice, calling for UEFA to investigate Tuesday's match official after allegedly insulting two Les Parisiens players.
The French giants traveled to the Etihad Stadium needing to overturn a 2-1 deficit. The visitors lost the first leg and were without Idrissa Gana Gueye, who was shown a straight red in Paris. After 11 minutes, Neymar and Co. were 1-0 down – 3-1 down on aggregate – and just over the hour mark, the game was done and dusted as Riyad Mahrez scored his second of the night to make it 4-1 on aggregate.
Angel Di Maria's immature stamp on Fernandinho killed off any lingering hopes of a comeback as the Argentine was shown a straight red, leaving Pochettino's side with 10 men to claw back into the game. From that moment on, the PSG players struggled to keep their cool and were lucky to have not received another sending off till the final whistle.
When the players and the coach fronted the media, not many expected them to feel hard done by at the hands of the match official but that was exactly what they claimed, with Ander Herrera Marco Verratti accusing referee Bjorn Kuipers of insulting their players.
"We talk about respect with referees," Herrera told RMC. "The referee tonight said 'f*** off' to Leandro Paredes. It's incredible. If we say that we get a three-four match ban."
Verratti corroborated this story, claiming: "He said 'f*** you' to me... I talk to referees a lot but I never say that or I get a 10-game ban."
Speaking in the post-match press conference, Pochettino, who was disappointed with his team's display, admitted that he could not hear anything from his touchline. However, the Argentine has shown his support for his players and his called for UEFA to investigate these allegations.
"They explained to the TV in some interview before, we need to believe in what they are telling us you know,' Pochettino said.
"But now the most important thing is that we are not in the final. But of course if I didn't hear nothing from the touchline, if something is there and that is how they explain, maybe UEFA will investigate the situation (sic)."
The PSG players had several disagreement with the referee and his decisions throughout the 90 minutes, with Verratti and Herrera taking exception with a few of his calls. Regardless, the French giants did little to threaten Guardiola's side as they failed to register a shot on target thanks to a Man of the Match display form Ruben Dias.
