Moaning, sobbing and disregarding facts: Xavi blames the referee for Barcelona's impotence

Xavi Hernandez was very critical of referee Soto Grado's performance in the game Barcelona dropped two points on Sunday night. He raged and moaned about everything his players did was a foul in the ref's eyes. However, match stats tell a different story: Barca's opponents were given twice as many fouls against!

Former Barcelona captain said the referee had gotten out of hand, that the referees don't understand him and that the level of refereeing in La Liga was appaling. He was very blunt in criticizing Mr Grado.

"If this game is the product of La Liga, it's an absolute shame. I understand why some people don't want to watch football anymore. The handball whistled at Gavi is a joke. I don't understand why don't they use VAR if it's meant to help with situations like this."

Getafe is an impenetrable fortress for Barca

Xavi managed how he got sent off in a game where the referee dished out three sending-offs.

"I told the referee that they were allowing Getafe many fouls while they sanction us for every contact, and that's why he sent me off. Before the season started, we had a meeting with the referees and the first change they said they would make was that they would understand the coaches more: the tension we experience on the pitch. However, that's not what happened against Getafe. They didn't understand me at all."

Xavi continued to moan to the press, claiming his team got every possible decision against them. Match stats, however, say that Barca players made 11 fouls - compared to Getafe's 20. Also, Getafe players were shown six yellow cards - four more than Barca's.

"The game got out of hand for the referee. They are allowing too much. If we're supposed to sell La Liga as a product, but allow things like tonight to happen, then our product isn't very good. The officials allow too much to the rivals, and we get whistled for fouls whatever we do."

The champions of Spain couldn't get a goal against a modest opponent. And yet - Xavi believes his team played at least 45 minutes of "fantastic" football. Maybe he should think more about his players' performances than those of match officials.

"We weren't good in the first half. We were competing against a defensively tough opponent. We took an insufficient point because we didn't make our chances count. In the second part, we have played great football."