Arsenal fans have been going apoplectic over the refereeing decisions in their Champions League semi-final first leg against Paris Saint-Germain.
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Soft Saka foul against Nuno flagged by Gunners fansArsenal could have had a penalty tooPSG also had claim to a spot-kickFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
Tensions were running high at the Emirates Stadium and on social media, as the performance of Slavko Vincic was questioned by both sets of fans on X. Arsenal supporters felt hard done by after Bukayo Saka was deemed to have fouled Nuno Mendes for a gentle push in the back. Had the play continued the winger was through on goal. Saka was then booked for kicking the ball away. However, both sets of fans will feel they could have had a penalty. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia appeared to be impeded by Myles Lewis-Skelly in the Arsenal area, while Mikel Merino saw a goal-scoring opportunity denied by Joao Neves. A replay appeared to show the Portuguese got the ball before making contact with the Arsenal midfielder.
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Vincic's performance was the main point of conversation on X. One user, Culturecams, posted: "Ref needs half time more than the players."
Another supporter, BodegaaCat, added: "This ref has been shocking. Mendes fell over way before he was touched"
Mabyllionaire wrote: "Arsenal fans booing the ref… these lot were calling themselves "Dark Arts FC" and now someone's doing it to them in a game that actually matters they can't hack it."
FIFA Youtuber and Arsenal fan Nepenthez gave his two cents, writing: "This f*cking ref man. Blowing every time a PSG player gets breathed on."
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Vincic did get some of his decisions spot on. Myles Lewis-Skelly was rightly shown a yellow card for a number of fouls on Desiree Doue. Even so, the attending Arsenal fans were vocal in their opinion of the Serbian's performance, showering the Emirates pitch with boos. Given the performance of both sets of players, their anger could only be directed at one man.
AFPDID YOU KNOW?
Arsenal face a difficult task in the second half as they fell behind to an smart finish by Ousmane Dembele in just the fourth minute. The curling effort was the result of a 27-pass move by Les Parisiens. Gianluigi Donnarumma was able to maintain the visitors' lead when he made a sharp save from a Saka effort a few minutes before the break.