Germain ref Deniz Aytekin could be demoted after Barcelona – PSG (6-1) game

THE official who took charge of Barcelona’s historic triumph over Paris Saint-Germain could be demoted.

Italian legend and Uefa’s head of refereeing, Pierluigi Collina, will have the final say on whether Deniz Aytekin will take charge of another European fixture this season.

The German whistler’s chances of officiating another Champions League clash are said to be slim.

Collina has a no-nonsense approach when it comes to cutting out refereeing mistakes and is likely to punish Aytekin, Uefa sources reportedly told Marca.

The extent of the ref’s punishment will reportedly not stretch beyond a demotion to the Europa League, or simply being hauled temporarily out of the spotlight.

Aytekin, 38, came under fire for his decision not to award Angel Di Maria a penalty after being taken out by Javier Mascherano during Barca’s 6-1 fightback.

The Barcelona defender later owned up, admitting: “It’s clear that I did foul Di Maria but I think that’s not the reason why we eliminated PSG.”

Aytekin also controversially awarded Barca a spot-kick after Luis Suarez appeared to dive following minimal contact from Marquinhos.

Fifa president Gianni Infantino has backed Uefa’s officials – and warned against tinkering with the rules.

He said: “Whether that particular case was an injustice or not, we can leave it to the judgement of the referee.

“We saw was an incredible football match, whatever the result would have been at the end. This shows that football is really a fantastic game. When you feel you have seen everything, something else comes along. It’s just amazing and incredible.

“We have to really be careful in the International Football Association Board if we want to touch the rules, because football is such an incredible game.

“In this case, I don’t know if it was a clear mistake or not. But in future, when there are clear mistakes, this will be corrected by the video assistant referee so we can make sure decisive matches are not decided by mistakes made in good faith by the referee.”

Source: TheSunUK