"Arsenal wasted time and got flagged by the referee," Nasri said with a deliberate remark, "I was punished." He praised PSG for winning, saying, "They have finally become legends."

*This content was translated by AI.

Former Arsenal midfielder Samir Nasri (39) pointed to the referee's decision as the cause of Arsenal's defeat. He claimed the referee held a grudge over Arsenal's time-wasting in the first half and intentionally made unfavorable calls in the second half.

The UK's "The Sun" reported on the 31st (Korean time) that "Nasri appeared on French broadcaster Canal+ and strongly criticized the referee's decisions."

Arsenal drew 1-1 with PSG in extra time in the "2025-2026 UEFA Champions League (UCL)" final held at Puskás Arena in Budapest, Hungary, and lost 3-4 in the subsequent penalty shootout. The missed penalty by Magalhães as the fifth kicker was particularly painful.

Arsenal took the lead with an early goal by Kai Havertz in the 6th minute of the first half. Afterward, they built a thick defensive wall and played a defense-oriented match.

Nasri said, "The referee blew whistles blatantly against Arsenal in the second half," and analyzed, "The referee was punishing Arsenal for time-wasting in the first half." Ultimately, Arsenal conceded an equalizing goal from a penalty kick by Ousmane Dembélé in the 20th minute of the second half, and Magalhães missed his penalty in the shootout, handing the title to PSG.

Regarding the controversy over the penalty kick in extra time, Nasri maintained an objective perspective. Noni Madueke fell inside the penalty box after a challenge with Nuno Mendes, but the referee did not call a foul. Nasri said, "If the referee had called a penalty kick, the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) would not have overturned it," but also drew a line, stating, "However, it is hard to view the decision not to call a foul as an obvious error or a scandal."

Separate from the criticism of the decisions, Nasri highly praised PSG manager Luis Enrique's leadership. Nasri said, "Manager Enrique avoids uncalculated risks and controls the match thoroughly," and added, "He always plans to catch the opposing manager off guard." Indeed, PSG remained calm despite conceding an early goal and eventually succeeded in scoring in the second half.

Nasri offered praise to PSG, which achieved back-to-back UCL titles. Nasri said, "If the first title is historic, the second is legendary," and lauded PSG's achievement. He then acknowledged, "Regardless of the controversy over the decisions, there is no longer any doubt that PSG has established itself as a true powerhouse in European football."

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*This content was translated by AI.