Arsenal fans were right to be left feeling annoyed at the performance of referee Serdar Gözübüyük in their defeat to Porto, with the Dutchman doing a less than stellar job.
That’s according to journalist Henk Spaan, who backed Arsenal fans for feeling aggrieved at the referees display, stating ‘he stunk’.
Arsenal were beaten by Porto in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 clash earlier this week, with a poor performance from the Gunners capped by Galeno’s last-minute winner.
It was a frustrating evening for the Premier League title contenders, who never really got going and were consistently annoyed by the antics of their Portuguese opposition.
While Porto put on an impressive defensive display, there was also a bit of dark arts on show too, with several players seen throwing themselves to the floor from minimal, or even non-existent contact, to win free kicks.
It was a tactic that worked as Gözübüyük handed them out freely, much to the ire of Arsenal and their watching fanbase.
He was heavily criticised after the game for what had gone on and Spaan feels it was deserved, even if Arsenal were not at their best.
“If Saka and Martinelli both play like a kind of Bakayoko (Ibrahim, PSV )- lots of dribbles, little return – and the Portuguese play football as the Portuguese do – lie down at the slightest suspicion of contact – an English club is in trouble,” he said.
“The referee was a Dutchman named Gözübüyük. He stunk in every Portuguese crash.
“There was a corner for Arsenal where four Portuguese fell to the ground. Declan Rice was wrongly shown a yellow card after just 2 minutes.
“Dutch referees seem to have a good reputation at UEFA. Gözübüyük will not be forgotten on the streets of North London. After mentioning his name, people spit on the ground.”
