Jorginho becomes first Arsenal player to publicly respond after Newcastle VAR drama

Jorginho has become the first Arsenal player to publicly address Newcastle's controversial winning goal on Saturday.

The Gunners suffered their first Premier League defeat of the season at St James' Park after Anthony Gordon scored the only goal of the game in the second half.

But the strike was shrouded in controversy as there were three different VAR checks on the goal.

The officials were unable to determine whether the ball had gone out of play, there was a hint of a foul from Joelinton and the camera angle available could not conclusively say that Gordon was offside.

Therefore the goal stood and Mikel Arteta unleashed on the PGMOL after the game, calling the decision to stick with the on-field call an "absolute disgrace" and saying he felt "sick to be part of this".

Image: Getty

In a rare move, Arsenal followed up his press conference rant with a strongly-worded statement where they criticised "unacceptable refereeing and VAR errors".

The decision to go public received backlash from pundits Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher - prompting one Arsenal fan to call for them to be banned from the Emirates.

But midfielder Jorginho also commented on the VAR drama. Taking to Instagram, he branded the events "unacceptable".

Image: Getty

The Italy international wrote: "Proud of the team. Unacceptable what happened though. But we keep fighting."

As well as the goal, Arsenal were also aggrieved by Bruno Guimaraes remaining on the pitch.

The Brazilian was cautioned in the game but Gunners fans felt he should have been sent off for an incident where he appeared to strike Jorginho.

Meanwhile, Newcastle captain Jamaal Lascelles fumed at Jorginho, accusing him of refusing to shake hands following the game.

He said: “Jorginho didn’t want to shake hands after the game. Whatever happens on the pitch — handbags or whatever — you show sportsmanship and shake hands.

“He didn’t do that, so I’m so glad we beat them. Players like that, I don’t think it’s acceptable.

Topics: Newcastle United, Arsenal, Jorginho

Josh Lawless

Josh is a sports journalist who specialises in football and wrestling. He has been published by Curzon Ashton FC, Late Tackle, Manchester City FC, The Mirror, Read Man City and Manchester Evening News. He provides coverage of professional wrestling and has interviewed some of the biggest names in the field - including the first UK interview with The Hardy Boyz after their return to WWE. He has never sported a pair of Lonsdale Slip-ons, contrary to reports.

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