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Gunners striker hits out at ref following Camp Nou dismissal
Robin van Persie was left fuming after seeing red in Arsenal's UEFA Champions League defeat at Barcelona.
The Dutchman was a surprise inclusion in Arsene Wenger's starting XI, having been a major injury doubt in the run up to the game.
In the end he lasted 56 minutes, with a second yellow card seeing him forced from the field.
Van Persie was dismissed after opting to shoot once an offside decision had already gone against him.
The Swiss referee, Massimo Busacca, felt the Gunners striker had kicked the ball away and issued him a second caution.
Van Persie protested that he had not heard the whistle amid a cauldron of noise at Camp Nou, but his pleas fell on deaf ears.
Betrayed
After being sent for an early bath with the scores locked at 1-1, he was forced to watch on as Arsenal conceded twice more to slip to a 4-3 aggregate defeat.
Van Persie felt the match officials cost the Gunners a place in the last eight, with his sending off turning the tide at a crucial stage of the game.
"It had a big influence," he told Sky Sports.
"I think it was a total joke. How can I hear his whistle with 95,000 people jumping up? How can I hear it? Please explain that?
"I can't understand the view from the ref. One second from his whistle to my shot is a joke. He has been bad all evening. He was against us. I don't know why he was here tonight, it's a joke.
"We feel betrayed, almost. We tried really hard. When it was 1-1 it was all to play for. But, in my opinion, the ref killed the game."
