Ronald Araujo Hand Gesture After Barcelona Red Card vs PSG Explained

Ronald Araujo was spotted making an unusual hand gestur moments after being shown a straight red card during Barcelona’s 4-1 Champions League loss against Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday. The Uruguay international was dismissed with his team 1-0 ahead on the night and 4-2 up on aggregate after a 3-2 win in Paris.

The Parisiens netted four goals against a 10-man Barca side to progress to the semi-finals of Europe’s elite competition, where they will face Borussia Dortmund, who staged a comeback of their own on the same night against Atletico Madrid.

Former Leeds United winger Raphinha had given the Spanish giants the lead after some sensational work on the wing by youngster Lamine Yamal. However, Araujo was put in an awkward position just before the half-hour mark as Bradley Barcola broke free on the left wing and the centre-back wiped out the PSG forward just outside the box.

The Uruguayan was sent off for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity and this is where things went wrong for the home side. Ousmane Dembele equalised on his return to Camp Nou before a long-range effort from Vitinha and a Kylian Mbappe brace secured a 6-4 aggregate success for the visitors.

Araujo was far from happy with the referee’s decision to send him off and was quick to make his feelings known to the official. He appeared to be waiting for a VAR call to save him, but it didn’t come.

With the red card being confirmed, the 25-year-old was forced to exit the pitch and as he did so, cameras picked up the hand gesture he was making on his way off. The movement in question saw Araujo spread his fingers and twist his wrist.

Per the Daily Mail, users on Reddit were able to reveal the meaning behind the hand gesture the defender made. It’s been claimed that it’s the South American hand gesture for stealing.

This was apparently Araujo’s way of showing that he felt he and his team had been robbed. The moment did prove to be pivotal in the tie as Barcelona had looked in control before they were reduced to 10 men. With a man advantage, the Ligue 1 outfit turned the quarter-final on its head as they moved into the final four.

Miserable Night for Barcelona

Xavi announced in January that he would be leaving his role as manager of his former club at the end of the 2023/24 season. Fans of the Catalonian outfit would have hoped for a fairytale ending which saw their icon lifting the trophy as a manager after doing so four times as a player.