Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini questioned the impartiality of referee Jonas Eriksson and accused the Swede of deciding the outcome of their 2-0 Champions League defeat by Barcelona on Tuesday.

City fell behind in their last-16 first-leg clash when Eriksson awarded a penalty to the visitors in the 53rd minute for a foul by Martin Demichelis on fellow Argentine Lionel Messi that appeared to take place outside the area.

To compound the punishment, Demichelis was sent off, leaving City to play the rest of the match down to ten men, with Messi firing home from the spot and Dani Alves adding a second goal in stoppage time.

Chilean Pellegrini, who normally keeps his own counsel, was highly critical of the Swedish official, who has held a FIFA badge for 12 years and has now refereed 22 Champions League and 87 UEFA matches in total.

Pellegrini, who risks a severe sanction from UEFA, told a news conference: “I spoke to him (Eriksson) at the end and told him he should be very happy because he decided the match.

“Barcelona had no chance to score until the penalty against Demichelis.

“The referee was not impartial. He did not have any control of the game. I think it was not a good idea to have a referee from Sweden in such an important match.

“He did not call for a foul on (Jesus) Navas before the penalty. On the penalty, the foul was made outside the box, but more importantly we were building up the play.”

Meanwhile, FIFA referees chief Jim Boyce came to the defence of Eriksson.

Boyce, a FIFA vice-president from Northern Ireland, said it was wrong for Pellegrini to suggest that UEFA should not have chosen a referee from Sweden for such an important match.

“It is absolute nonsense to say a referee should not be chosen for an important match because he comes from a smaller country,” Boyce said.

“If the referee has proved himself at the top level it should not matter what country they come from.”