Former Arsenal midfielder Samir Nasri has claimed that the referees deliberately "punished" the London club in the Champions League final against PSG. The former French footballer believes the match official began making decisions against Mikel Arteta's side in the second half. This is reported by Goal.com reports .
In the dramatic final held in Budapest, the match ended 1-1 after regular time, and in the penalty shootout, Gabriel Magalhaes made a mistake, handing the trophy to the Parisians. Speaking on Canal+, Nasri criticized the referee's actions: "In the second half, the referee systematically whistled against Arsenal. He punished the team for time-wasting in the first half," he said.
After Kai Havertz opened the scoring in the sixth minute, Arsenal tried to frustrate their opponents with a defensive block. Nasri believes this specific tactic negatively influenced the referees' attitude. However, he did not call the failure to award a penalty for a clash between Noni Madueke and Nuno Mendes in extra time a "scandal."
"If the referee had awarded a penalty, VAR would not have overturned it. But not pointing to the spot was not a huge mistake either," Nasri explained. At the same time, he praised the tactical composure of Luis Enrique's PSG. According to him, the Spanish coach remained loyal to his plan without taking risks, even while trailing.
Recall that PSG equalized in the second half thanks to a penalty converted by Ousmane Dembele. Ultimately, the Parisians won Europe's most prestigious club tournament for the second consecutive time in their history.
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