Arsenal vs Lens ref branded ‘disgraceful’ after one of Europe’s biggest derbies

Portuguese referee Artur Dias is in charge of Arsenal’s Champions League game against Lens, but he doesn’t have the greatest of reputations among some in the game.

Dias will take charge of Arsenal’s potentially pivotal Champions League game that could see them book their place in the knockout stages, should they avoid defeat at the Emirates. Mikel Arteta’s side are currently top of the group and will open up an unassailable gap to Lens in 3rd if they avoid defeat.

Hopefully for Arteta, the spotlight won’t be drawn onto the man in the middle as Newcastle United suffered on Tuesday night after a ridiculous VAR decision to award PSG a penalty cost the Magpies two points. But Dias does have a reputation among top managers across the continent.

READ MORE: VAR official who gave PSG penalty against Newcastle demoted from Champions League game

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Dias has been refereeing FIFA and UEFA games since 2010 and, in 2014, his performance during Porto’s clash against Benfica was called ‘scandalous’ and ‘disgraceful’ by Porto president Jorge Pinto da Costa. They were beaten 2-0 in a match which saw former Manchester City defender Danilo sent off and denied two penalties.

Speaking after the game, Pinto da Costa ranted: “The decisions were scandalous and disgraceful. The errors of Artur Dias did not happen due to dishonesty. He needs to leave refereeing or ask to be excused from our games.”

Can you remember any of Artur Dias’ performances? Let us know in the comments section.

Dias has came under criticism for his performance in Lazio’s 3-0 win against Lokomotiv Moscow in November 2021 after VAR had to step in to award Lazio a penalty. He dished out nine yellow cards in total during the game but failed to show Maksim Nenakohv a possibly deserve second yellow.

The Portuguese official also came under fire during Manchester City’s 0-0 draw away at Copenhagen last year after he disallowed a Riyad Mahrez goal after the ball brushed his arm in the build up, before awarding City a penalty for handball which Owen Hargreaves called ‘harsh'.

Arsenal were dealt the only blemish on their European record so far this season by the Ligue 1 side in the earlier fixture in the group as Lens came from behind the win 2-1, overturning an early Gabriel Jesus goal.

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