Van Persie hits out at referee after dismissal
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Arsenal's Dutch forward Robin van Persie blasted the referee on his sending-off in the 3-1 Champions League Last 16 second leg defeat by Barcelona.
The Dutchman recovered from a knee injury to make the starting team as Arsenal looked to defend a 2-1 first-leg lead at the Nou Camp. But his second yellow card in the 56th minute left the visitors with 10 men, and the Spanish champions scored twice afterward to win 3-1 and 4-3 on aggregate.
Van Persie's second booking was for kicking the ball away after the whistle had blown, but he labeled referee Massimo Busacca's decision a "total joke".
"My sending off was hugely influential on the outcome of the match," Van Persie said.
"It was a total joke. How can I hear the whistle when there are 95,000 fans jumping up and making noise," he said.
"He's been bad all evening, whistling against us. I don't know why he's here tonight. We feel betrayed a bit, when it was 1-1 it was all to play for and in my opinion this referee killed the game," added the striker.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was also angry.
"I just spoke to UEFA people and they are shocked as well," Wenger said. "You promise a fantastic football match, but what for? How he did it, frankly it's embarrassing for the game."
