Shearer agrees with Arsenal fans in angry verdict on Champions League referee

Arsenal welcomed Paris Saint-Germain to the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night but the man in the middle was not a very popular man with the home support during the game

Alan Shearer tore into referee Slavko Vincic for making Arsenal's Champions League clash with PSG "very difficult". The Gunners welcomed the French side to the Emirates on Tuesday evening for their first-leg semi-final showdown.

And PSG enjoyed a dream start through Ousmane Dembele. The game, however, then took a turn with constant stoppages for fouls, while Arsenal had both Leandro Trossard and Bukayo Saka booked before half-time for contentious fouls.

The latter was called back after appearing to get past Nuno Mendes - albeit the winger's reaction earned him his booking. The decision nevertheless drew criticism from the crowd, with Vincic being booed at half-time.

Co-commentator Shearer claimed the UEFA official did not make life easy for himself with some of his decisions. Speaking during the game, Shearer said: "The ref has made it very difficult for himself when he booked Trossard early on. I was worried he was going to be one of those and he is.

"You can understand the frustration from the Arsenal fans because Saka has every right to try and get that ball. I didn't think that was a foul.

"This is a tough game already for the referee. He's given a very early yellow card and spoken to a few players. It's not an easy one for him."

And Shearer also doubled down on his claims as the second period got underway, Vincic getting a less than warm welcome as he re-emerged from the dressing rooms. He added: "I wasn't impressed with his performance. I thought he wanted to be the star of the show instead of letting the game flow."

Vincic also left the Emirates baffled mid-way through the first-half as Joao Neves produced a heroic block to deny Mikel Merino. Some fans thought the hosts were deserving of a penalty for the challenge, with Vincic appearing to gesture towards the penalty spot.

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The decision went the other way though, with both Shearer and former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg claiming that Vincic had 'confused' fans.

PSG also thought they should have had a penalty during the game as Khvicha Kvaratskhelia went down under the challenge of Jurrien Timber. But play was waved on, with VAR choosing not to get involved.

There was more controversy to come just minutes into the second period as Arsenal thought they had scored the equaliser. Mikel Merino had headed home from Declan Rice's free-kick but VAR intervened to cut the Gunners' celebrations short.