Xavi: 'Referee Lahoz withdrew the card without reason'

In the match in round 15 of La Liga, referee Lahoz issued 15 yellow cards and two red cards. Barca received eight yellow cards and one red card. Lahoz also showed a red card to Espanyol's Leandro Cabrera, but later canceled it.

"The match was beyond the capacity of the referee," Barca coach Xavi said after the match. "He drew the card for no reason. He was completely out of control."

Yesterday's match in Catalonia was the first time referee Lahoz held the whistle since the Argentina - Netherlands match in the quarter-finals of the World Cup 2022. In that match in Doha on December 9, he drew 18 yellow cards and one red card - setting a record Check out a penalty card in a World Cup match.

The match Barca - Espanyol ended with a score of 1-1. Barca opened the scoring in the seventh minute, but could not maintain the advantage. In the 73rd minute, Joselu took a penalty kick to equalize for Espanyol.

The draw with Espanyol made Barca end 2022 with the same 38 points as Real Madrid. Xavi's teachers and students still lead La Liga 2022-2023 after 15 rounds, but just over the difference.

Xavi admitted: "The draw was our fault. We can talk about the referee or other things, but the result is up to us. When you have many chances, attack many times without finishing. okay, then it's your fault".

According to Xavi, Barca played excellently in the first 30 minutes. However, they had to pay the price when they could not raise the score to 2-0. In the second half, Barca lacked the intensity needed to hold the game.

Meanwhile, Espanyol became the first team to score at the Camp Nou this season. That became even more meaningful when they won a point in the Catalan derby.

"I'm really proud of the players. They played well with the emotional strength and DNA of this club," said Espanyol coach Diego Martinez. "When you're down, sometimes you lose your temper, but my players were focused. They played really well and deserved the points."