'It's an injustice': Xavi furious at referee after Barcelona's Champions League defeat against Inter Milan

Barcelona head coach Xavi Hernandez was left fuming after controversial refereeing decisions in his side's 1-0 loss against Inter Milan in the Champions League on Wednesday. Barcelona were denied a late penalty in the game after Inter Milan defender Denzel Dumfries appeared to have handled the ball when Barcelona forward Ansu Fati looked set to head in a shot towards goal.

Barcelona were trailing 1-0 and hoped for a final shot at drawing the game after Dumfries' foul. There was a long check as the VAR analysed the incident but Xavi's men were not awarded a penalty as Inter eventually secured a hard-fought win.

The last-minute handball call was not the only controversial referee decision during the game as Inter too were denied a penalty in the first half after a handball from Barcelona defender Eric Garcia. The replays showed Inter's Lautaro Martinez was marginally offside seconds before the incident, which led to Inter losing the penalty.

Inter Milan then took the lead at the stroke of halftime as midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu scored the decisive goal to put his side ahead in the crucial clash. Barcelona came close to scoring the equaliser in the second half when Pedri scored in the 66th minute. However, the goal was ruled out as replays showed Fati had handled the ball in the build-up.

It was the handball call in the dying minutes of the game which didn't go in Barcelona's favour that infuriated Xavi. The Barcelona head coach said it was clear injustice and that the referee should have been asked to explain the decision why he didn't award a penalty to Barcelona.

"I'm p***** off because it's an injustice that we've had to experience. We've suffered a very important defeat. We have three finals left in a very uncomfortable situation," Xavi said after the game.

"The referee should speak. For me, it's a very clear handball. The referee is very important in this sport, and he should go out and give explanations. He didn't want to give them to me. He gave me explanations of the plays he had cancelled, but I asked him about the last one," he added.

Their defeat against Inter Milan has left Barcelona in a spot of bother as they currently lied third in Group C with just three points from three matches. Bayern Munich are comfortably placed on top with three wins in three games and Barcelona's rematch with Inter next will prove to be decisive in deciding who will take the second spot in the group and progress to the Round of 16.