Olympiacos coach talks about red cards: When the team is getting better, someone kicks us out of the game

In the third round of the Champions League, Barcelona defeated Olympiacos 6-1. After the game, Olympiacos head coach Jose Luis Mendiliba talked about the referee's decision at a press conference.

■You said before the game that your temper is better than before. Are you a little angry at the referee again tonight?

Mendiliba said: "Everyone saw why I was angry. When we gradually entered the game, someone kicked us out of the game, and we did not do anything wrong. It was other people on the field who really made mistakes."

■Obviously you are referring to the referee. How much impact did these misjudgments have on the team?

Mendiliba said: "We were still in the rhythm of the game, from 0-2 to scoring a goal to 1-2, and had the opportunity to put Barcelona into a passive situation. But after a series of penalties, we were completely kicked out of the game. We can't understand these decisions. Maybe if the score becomes 1-2, the result will be completely different. Now history will only remember this 6-1 score, but no one knows what happened during the game."

■ Did you talk to the referee after the game?

Mendiliba said: "I didn't want to talk to the referee. I only chatted a few words with the fourth official, and his attitude was very good. But no matter how I communicated with him, it was meaningless, because the key was still the referee's decision. But I also didn't want to be wrongly targeted for saying more. Ethiopia's red card was a completely ridiculous penalty, and during the penalty kick, Cholakis had already withdrawn his hand in order to avoid touching his opponent, but the referee still awarded a penalty kick."