Sports
Arsenal v PSG Ref Blasted For ‘Nonsense’ Decision During Champions League Final
Referee Daniel Siebert has been slammed by Ex-PGMOL chief Keith Hackett for a ‘nonsense’ decision he made during the Champions League final between Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain.
Arsenal went into the match as the underdogs, but they took an early lead when Kai Havertz slammed the ball into the roof of the net from close range.
Reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain were given a golden opportunity to restore parity in the second half when they were awarded a penalty. Ousmane Dembele made no mistake from 12 yards.
Neither side could find a winner as the match went all the way to penalties. The French giants held their nerve in the shootout as they prevailed to retain their title.
Champions League Final Referee Slammed
Siebert has been slammed for prematurely blowing his whistle to signal the end of the first half.
Arsenal were given a corner in the dying embers of the first half. Given Arsenal’s prowess from set-pieces, it presented a good opportunity for the Gunners to extend their lead.
However, as Bukayo Saka made his way to the corner flag to take the set-piece, Siebert changed his mind and decided there was no time remaining for the corner to be taken.
Arsenal’s players were incensed by the decision, with Steven Gerrard also calling it ‘madness’. Ex-PGMOL chief Hackett agrees with Gerrard’s take.
Speaking to Football Insider, Hackett said: “In Law five, the referee is the sole timekeeper, and his actions for me underpin the need for football to appoint an independent timekeeper.
“Good practice here is to allow play to continue and blow up when the ball is in a neutral position.
“This action by the referee who has officiated well was frankly a bit of nonsense and avoidable. Did not see him taking a proactive approach by signalling to the Arsenal player to get on with it.”
Arsenal Should Have Been Awarded Penalty, Says Hackett
Hackett also thinks that Arsenal should have been given a spot-kick in extra-time when Noni Madueke went down under a challenge from Nuno Mendes inside the box.
He said: “The referee was firm in his decision not to award a penalty kick, satisfied that no offence had taken place.
“My first thoughts were that a penalty kick should have been awarded, and I suggest that had the referee pointed to the penalty mark, VAR would not have intervened.
“The referee said no, and VAR, viewing the replays, decided that there was not a clear and obvious error by the match referee to meet the criteria to send the referee to the screen.
“Without question, I think we can all say that we have seen these given. I suspect the referee judged that the Arsenal player was doing the holding.
“Frankly, in these tight decisions, I would like the referee to have a second look to determine the accuracy of such an important call.”
Arguably the most heated storyline in all of modern-day professional wrestling came to a head on Saturday night as ‘The Real’ El Grande Americano defeated ‘The Original’ El Grande Americano in a ‘Mask vs Mask’ match.
The two Superstars have been feuding for months, with many of their battles taking place on WWE Monday Night Raw. However, it is in Mexico where the rivalry has really captured the imagination of fans.
What started out as a parody character on weekly television transformed into a culturally significant figure via the WWE-owned AAA promotion in Mexico.
The El Grande Americano Character Explored
Initially designed as a gimmick to antagonise WWE’s luchadors on Raw, El Grande Americano was positioned as an obnoxious heel who many felt was mocking American culture.
Determined to push the character, WWE gave him a number of high profile wins, including a victory over Rey Fenix at WrestleMania 41. El Grande Americano then began to appear in AAA where he was pushed as one of the promotion’s top stars.
When the man under the mask got injured in the summer of 2025, though, WWE decided they didn’t want to lose the character from television. As a result, they took the unusual step of recasting the Superstar.
The mask was handed to Ludvig Kaiser, who looked absolutely nothing like the first El Grande Americano. Fans were immediately it on the ‘secret’, but when Kaiser started using the character to geniunely promote Mexican culture, the people took him to their hearts.
As a result, ‘The Real’ El Grande Americano became the most popular Superstar in all of AAA, something that didn’t sit well with the original man under the mask.
Ever since ‘The Original’ El Grande Americano returned at this year’s Royal Rumble, the duo have been on a collision course, with a ‘Mask vs Mask’ match always being the logical conclusion to their feud.
The match was briefly threatened by Kaiser’s recent arrest, but the German-born Superstar was able to get clearance to return to Mexico in order to perform.
‘The Original’ El Grande Americano Unmasked
The high-stakes contest headlined the first night of the AAA Noche de los Grandes special at Arena Monterrey in Mexico. A rabid crowd was in attendance to witness the culmination of the El Grande Americano civil war.
After a heated No Disqualification match, it was Kaiser’s ‘Real’ El Grande Americano who got his hand raised, meaning it was time for ‘The Original’ to unmask.
In what had always been an open secret, the originator of the El Grande Americano character was revealed to be Chad Gable. However, the seriousness with which the crowd and Gable himself treated the moment made it truly special.
Gable had his family by his side as he unmasked, with the crowd immediately chanting his name as soon as his face was visible. The former US Olympian looked highly emotional as he spoke to the fans in Spanish to confirm his true idenitity.
Handing his mask to his opponent, Gable declared:
“I will always be the original El Grande Americano, but, from now on, you are the ONLY El Grande Americano!”
Although he has been unmasked, the success of the storyline is likely to see Gable remain a part of AAA.
Arguably the most heated storyline in all of modern-day professional wrestling came to a head on Saturday night as ‘The Real’ El Grande Americano defeated ‘The Original’ El Grande Americano in a ‘Mask vs Mask’ match.
The two Superstars have been feuding for months, with many of their battles taking place on WWE Monday Night Raw. However, it is in Mexico where the rivalry has really captured the imagination of fans.
What started out as a parody character on weekly television transformed into a culturally significant figure via the WWE-owned AAA promotion in Mexico.
The El Grande Americano Character Explored
Initially designed as a gimmick to antagonise WWE’s luchadors on Raw, El Grande Americano was positioned as an obnoxious heel who many felt was mocking American culture.
Determined to push the character, WWE gave him a number of high profile wins, including a victory over Rey Fenix at WrestleMania 41. El Grande Americano then began to appear in AAA where he was pushed as one of the promotion’s top stars.
When the man under the mask got injured in the summer of 2025, though, WWE decided they didn’t want to lose the character from television. As a result, they took the unusual step of recasting the Superstar.
The mask was handed to Ludvig Kaiser, who looked absolutely nothing like the first El Grande Americano. Fans were immediately it on the ‘secret’, but when Kaiser started using the character to geniunely promote Mexican culture, the people took him to their hearts.
As a result, ‘The Real’ El Grande Americano became the most popular Superstar in all of AAA, something that didn’t sit well with the original man under the mask.
Ever since ‘The Original’ El Grande Americano returned at this year’s Royal Rumble, the duo have been on a collision course, with a ‘Mask vs Mask’ match always being the logical conclusion to their feud.
The match was briefly threatened by Kaiser’s recent arrest, but the German-born Superstar was able to get clearance to return to Mexico in order to perform.
‘The Original’ El Grande Americano Unmasked
The high-stakes contest headlined the first night of the AAA Noche de los Grandes special at Arena Monterrey in Mexico. A rabid crowd was in attendance to witness the culmination of the El Grande Americano civil war.
After a heated No Disqualification match, it was Kaiser’s ‘Real’ El Grande Americano who got his hand raised, meaning it was time for ‘The Original’ to unmask.
In what had always been an open secret, the originator of the El Grande Americano character was revealed to be Chad Gable. However, the seriousness with which the crowd and Gable himself treated the moment made it truly special.
Gable had his family by his side as he unmasked, with the crowd immediately chanting his name as soon as his face was visible. The former US Olympian looked highly emotional as he spoke to the fans in Spanish to confirm his true idenitity.
Handing his mask to his opponent, Gable declared:
“I will always be the original El Grande Americano, but, from now on, you are the ONLY El Grande Americano!”
Although he has been unmasked, the success of the storyline is likely to see Gable remain a part of AAA.
Kevin De Bruyne has criticised former manager Antonio Conte, just days after his departure from Napoli.
Conte led Napoli to their fourth Scudetto in his debut season. He didn’t have as much success in his second season, though.
Napoli were unable to retain their Serie A title as they finished second, a distant 11 points behind Inter Milan. They also had a dismal Champions League campaign as they were knocked out in the League Phase.
While they didn’t end the campaign trophyless as they won the Supercoppa Italiana, Conte left the club by mutual consent at the conclusion of the season.
Kevin De Bruyne Criticises Antonio Conte
De Bruyne’s opening season at Napoli didn’t go as well as he would have hoped. The Belgian suffered a serious thigh injury in October, which kept him out of action for four months. He was limited to just 21 matches, recording five goals and four assists.
The 34-year-old has now remarkably called out Conte in an interview with Het Nieuwsblad ahead of this summer’s World Cup. He started:
“Obviously it was difficult for me because Conte has a very different vision of football to mine. In truth, I never had the opportunity to play in my preferred position. In any case, I always tried to give my all for the team.”
De Bruyne then criticised Conte’s style of play and accused him of making false promises. He continued:
“We played very defensively. If you try to win every game by a one-goal margin with a 4-5-1 formation, you play a certain type of football. At the start of the season, we sat back even deeper. Our centre-forward scored just 10 goals, so you know the statistics are not going to be great…”
When asked whether De Bruyne was happy whether Conte had left the club, he replied: “For me, yes. As far as I am concerned, he was not obliged to stay. There were promises made last summer on the way that we would be playing, but at the end of the day not much of it happened.
“I found that a pity. Football needs to be enjoyable, and unfortunately I found that aspect lacking. There’s no point beating around the bush, we have different visions of football. I never got to play in my position under Conte.”
De Bruyne has also said he could leave the club this summer amid frustration about how things have turned out at the Italian club.
“I still have a year left on my contract, but I want to talk about it. There was a lot of talk last year of how we’d play and what we would do, but none of it happened,” he said.
De Bruyne’s attention has now turned to the World Cup. The Manchester City legend has been named in Belgium’s squad alongside the likes of Romelu Lukaku, Jeremy Doku and Thibaut Courtois.
Original El Grande Americano Unmasked as Chad Gable in Mask vs Mask Match
Original El Grande Americano Unmasked as Chad Gable in Mask vs Mask Match
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