Barcelona have reported Paris Saint-Germain to UEFA over a tifo displayed by PSG fans before their Champions League clash on Tuesday night, with a club source describing the display as "overly aggressive and offensive".
PSG beat Barcelona 4-2 in a high-quality league phase encounter at the Parc des Princes, but the pre-match scenes upset the away side. Before kick-off, one end of the stadium was covered by a giant banner showing a man in a PSG shirt wearing a mask and holding a chainsaw.
Chainsaw banner sparks complaint
The figure was shown cutting apart the Barca badge, with pyrotechnics used to mimic the sparks of a chainsaw. Underneath were the words "Massacre, A La Parisienne", which translates as "Massacre, Parisian style".
Barcelona were reportedly unimpressed by the display and reported it to UEFA, with a club source telling ESPN it was "overly aggressive and offensive". Mirror Football have contacted UEFA for comment.
Match recap and reaction
Hansi Flick's side came into the match on an 11-game winning streak but were outplayed by the defending champions. Desire Doue put PSG ahead from the edge of the box before Xavi Espart equalised by blasting through Matvey Safonov's gloves.
Lucas Hernandez's powerful header from a corner was cancelled out by an individual goal from Lamine Yamal before PSG took charge. Vitinha smashed into the bottom corner to make it 3-2, and Fabian Ruiz tapped in a fourth at the back post to make the points safe.
Victory took PSG to the top of the Champions League table with three wins from three games, while Barcelona are fifth after their first defeat of the campaign.
Managers' assessments
"I think it was a fantastic game from both teams," Flick said. "We made too many mistakes, especially in ball possession, easy ball losses. This is what we have to analyse. But I saw a lot of good things also. For me it was a great test for us. You saw today in which areas we have to improve. This is what we will do."
PSG manager Luis Enrique was delighted with his players' performance against his former club. "What I loved is how the players were capable of playing a sensational first half defensively, winning a lot of balls with the high press and creating chances to score more goals," he said. "And then we overcame difficult moments in the second half when Barça had 15 minutes when they dominated and were better. But we are a team that adapts to whatever happens on the pitch."
