PSG coach Mauricio Pochettino said the decision not to give a foul against Karim Benzema for Real Madrid’s first goal changed everything in his team’s Champions League implosion on Wednesday. The French giants were cruising at 2-0 up on aggregate when Benzema scored the first goal of his hat-trick just after the hour mark at the Santiago Bernabeu, going on to lose 3-1 on the night and 3-2 in the Last-16 tie. 

But Pochettino was left angered that PSG were not given a free-kick for Benzema’s challenge on Gianluigi Donnarumma after the visiting goalkeeper dwelled on the ball. “Explaining what happened is easy. There was a foul on Donnarumma on the first goal, and that changed everything,” Pochettino said. “It’s hard not to talk about this big refereeing error, which I don’t understand and I won’t forgive. I don’t understand why the referee didn’t call for VAR. From then on everything changed in the stadium. Our players were upset, even if we must recognise that we made mistakes.”