Jermaine Jenas has drawn criticism from a referee support charity for aiming 'abuse' at referee Robert Jones during Sunday's North London derby between Arsenal and Tottenham.
The Gunners and Spurs played out a thrilling 2-2 draw at the Emirates Stadium, where the hosts were awarded a second-half penalty after a VAR check for a handball by Cristian Romero.
And Jones' decision to point to the spot after consulting the monitor incensed Jenas, who took to Twitter to express his rage.
The former Spurs midfielder turned presenter and pundit wrote: "Complete sh*thouse of a referee! They’re all ruining our game!"
And, in response to a backlash against his initial post, Jenas added: "It’ll happen to Arsenal at some point this year! If it takes that long after watching it over and over… then it’s not a pen."
Only last month, the ex-England international was chosen to lead the 'Love Football, Protect the Game' campaign It’ – an initiative launched to improve conduct from players and coaches, including in relation to their treatment of referees.
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As such, Ref Support UK have condemned Jenas' outburst. The charity's chief executive said:
"This was really disgraceful by Jermaine Jenas. One week he is being paid by the FA and other football bodies to front a campaign against the abuse of referees, the next he is posting abusive messages about a referee.
"The One Show [the BBC current affairs programme that Jenas presents] has even done pieces about online abuse of match officials. I don’t think this adds to the image of the BBC either; it’s totally inappropriate. This kind of thing ends up with what we saw happened to Anthony Taylor last season when his family was harassed at the airport after he was criticised by Jose Mourinho after the Europa League final."
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