Referee who officiated Barcelona and PSG UCL return leg faces demotion

Reports in Spain claim that Deniz Aytekin may be removed from UEFA  Champions League duty following his display, which was marred by a number of controversial decisions, according to The Independent.

The German official’s decision not to award PSG a penalty when Javier Mascherano brought down Angel di Maria in the box has fallen under particular scrutiny.

Mascherano later admitted, “It is clear that I did foul Di Maria but I think that is not the reason why we eliminated PSG.”

Aytekin went on to award Barcelona an injury-time penalty when Luis Suarez fell in the box under minimal contact. Neymar converted the spot-kick before Sergi Roberto scored in the sixth minute of injury-time, as Barcelona won the tie 6-5 on aggregate.

The referee has been heavily criticised in the French press for his performance and now the Spanish publication Marca are reporting that Aytekin is likely to be struck from the Champions League match officials list.

That decision ultimately rests with former referee Pierluigi Collina, who now works as UEFA’s Head of Refereeing.