Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi stormed the referee's dressing room and broke equipment after his side were knocked out of the Champions League by Real Madrid, according to the referee's report and verified by multiple reports including ESPN. Madrid overturned a two-goal deficit in the last-16 second leg, with Karim Benzema's second-half hat-trick sealing a 3-2 aggregate victory for Madrid. It was the first of Benzema's three goals which enraged PSG, who felt Benzema should have been called for a foul on goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma in the build-up.
Al-Khelaifi's outburst was documented in the referee's report, which also stated that PSG director of football Leonardo was alongside him. Al-Khelaifi and Leonardo "behaved aggressively and tried to enter the referee's dressing room," according to the report. "When the referee asked them to leave, the president hit a piece of the assistant's equipment, breaking it." The ESPN report states that a source says they had "never seen club executives behave like that." According to Spanish publication Marca, Al-Khelaifi's behavior was recorded by a Real Madrid employee — possibly club delegate Mejia Davila, whose office Al-Khelaifi initially, mistakenly entered first — who will likely send the footage to UEFA to study for a possible punishment. There have been a number of various details reported on social media. Some reports state that Al-Khelaifi threatened to "kill" the officials, while others claim that Al-Khelaifi snapped an assistant referee's flag and blocked the door, not allowing the officials to leave.
According to reports by both The Athletic and L'Equipe on Thursday, UEFA has opened disciplinary proceedings against Al-Khelaifi. L'Equipe cite Article 11 of the UEFA disciplinary regulations, which states it can sanction anyone who "behaves in an insulting way or otherwise contravenes the elementary rules of propriety." Article 15 also states that "incorrect behavior of players and [club] officials" could result in suspensions or fines. The situation will now be handled by UEFA’s Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body.
Source: Sporting News
