As the old saying goes: hell hath no fury like a free-spending Qatari royal family-backed French football team after an embarrassing Champions League exit.
In this case, that team is Paris Saint-Germain, who somehow managed to toss away a seemingly insurmountable 4-0 first leg lead against Barcelona last week.
Having shipped the first three goals of the evening in the Nou Camp, it seemed Edinson Cavani had all but ended any hopes of an unlikely Barca comeback when he bagged an away goal for the French champions.
The scoreline remained 3-1 until the 88th minute, when Neymar scored the first of three late goals that would turn the tie on its head.
The second of those three goals was scored by the Brazilian, this time from a penalty earned by what many perceived to be a dive by Luis Suarez.
This was one of several controversial decisions made by referee Deniz Aytekin on the night, and will almost certainly feature in the five-page letter of complaint the Parisians have now lodged with Uefa about the German official’s performance.
According to reports, PSG have employed several experts – including former international referees – to look closely at eight incidents from the game, with an inference that Barcelona’s greater standing within the game saw them looked upon favourably.
Despite an online petition demanding for the game to be replayed reaching over 200,000 signatures (it set up by a Real Madrid supporter), there is no suggestion that PSG are looking for this to happen.
There have been calls for Aytekin to be demoted after his performance, although any decision on that matter will rest with Pierluigi Collina, Uefa’s Head of Refereeing.
