Xavi spoke about him being sent off, Raphinha’s red card, playing Araujo as a fullback, Getafe’s poor tactics, poor refereeing decisions, denying clear penalty, time-wasting, and Gavi’s handball in his post-match press conference after the 0-0 draw against Getafe CF at Coliseum Alfonso Perez.
Xavi on his team’s overall performance:
“We have to be self-critical. In the first half, we didn’t play well. In the second, yes, we were brave. Everyone can see the controversial play at the end, I don’t need to say anything.”
Xavi on him being red-carded:
“The referee sent me off for telling him that there were too many fouls. They allow them to foul way too much.”
“The other day, in the meeting with the referees, they told us that they will try to protect us as managers. But no, they’re doing exactly the opposite of what they said they would do.”
Xavi on playing Araujo as a fullback:
“With Araujo and Kounde, we all agreed that it was better for Araujo to play on the right. We discussed it with them and they feel comfortable. However, in reality, it’s a three-man backline.”
Xavi on Raphinha’s red card:
“Raphinha was wrong, but he acted like that because so many things were happening and the referee was not calling the fouls. The referee was not in control of the match at all.”
Xavi on Gavi’s handball:
“There’s no handball from Gavi. They told us that they were only going to call out very clear handballs. I don’t understand. It’s a joke.
Xavi on denying a clear penalty:
“The referee invented Gavi’s handball. Nobody else can see it. I am really not happy with this. The referee cost us the game, he has to explain himself.”
Xavi on Getafe’s poor tactics:
“If we sell La Liga as the product we saw today, we’re failing. It’s not positive. I would tell Javier Tebas that his product is a shame.
“It’s normal if people get bored or don’t want to watch football. What we saw today wasn’t football, it was a complete shame. This product is a shame and people do not want to consume it.”
Xavi on stopage time:
“Football has to put in place an effective time measure, there’s no point in adding 10 minutes of additional time if you only play 2 minutes.”
Xavi on poor refereeing decisions:
“The match was violent because the referee allowed them to foul us. For us, they call everything, but they allow them to do anything they want. We’re selling La Liga as a product but this is what we have.”
