Nasser Al-Khelaifi 'removed' from referee dressing room as PSG fume with VAR 'mistake'

Paris Saint-Germain owner Nasser Al-Khelaifi had to be forcibly removed from the Santiago Bernabeu tunnel after attempting to confront the referee from Wednesday's 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid, according to reports.

PSG were incensed with the referee's failure to blow for a foul on goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma in the build-up to Real's equaliser. Karim Benzema pressured the stopper into a mistake and VAR was satisfied that he had not used excessive force to do so.

Al-Khelaifi, however, was not happy.

According to Movistar, the PSG owner charged from the stands towards the referee's dressing room and was seen slamming on the walls in an attempt to force his way into the room to confront the officials.

Al-Khelaifi allegedly had to be removed by security after refusing to let the matter lie.

"I feel a lot of injustice, because of the goal conceded," manager Mauricio Pochettino said after the loss. "It's a clear foul from Benzema to Donnarumma.

"Our emotional state changed after that and we were very exposed. It was a huge blow because we were the better team in this tie. We were better in the 180 minutes of football. Real Madrid had nothing to lose at 1-1 and went at us with everything."

"Feeling of a lot of injustice, because of the goal conceded. It is a clear foul from Benzema to Donnarumma. The emotional state has changed and we have been very exposed. It is a tremendous blow, because we have been better in the tie. We have been better in 180 minutes of football. Real Madrid, it's true, had nothing to lose with 1-1 and went up with everything".

The boss continued: "It was not an error [from Donnarumma] because it was a clear foul. I have seen the footage 30 or 40 times, from all angles. It wasn't a goalkeeper error, it's a foul.

"The small details count and the VAR has not seen a decisive foul. It's a determining factor that influenced the mood of both teams and the crowd. We had control of the game until that point."

As for Benzema, he was in no mood to humour PSG.

"I didn't do anything wrong," he told RMC Sport. "He took too long, I pressured him and he lost the ball."