Arsenal fans accused of ‘disrespecting’ the Pope after appearing to disrupt minute’s silence to mark his death ahead of PSG clash

Arsenal fans have been accused of showing a lack of respect to the Pope after appearing to interrupt the minute’s silence before their Champions League semi-final clash with PSG.

Pope Francis passed away last week at the age of 88 after 12 years in the Vatican, and UEFA subsequently confirmed that a minute’s silence will be held ahead of every European match this week.

Arsenal’s players seemed to forget about the tribute as they were still in their team huddle as PSG gathered around the centre circle prior to kick-off.

The referee then blew his whistle to signal the start of the silence, but whistles and some chants could be heard around the Emirates.

This was spotted by some social media users, who hit out at the behaviour of the home fans.

‘Arsenal fans with the disrespect can’t even be quiet to pay respects for the late Pope,’ one fan posted on X.

Pope Francis passed away last week at the age of 88

The minute’s silence before Arsenal’s game against PSG appeared to be disrupted

Arsenal fans were accused of showing ‘disrespect’ towards the late Pope

Another X user claimed the minute’s silence was ‘awfully observed’ at the Emirates

One X user suggested Arsenal fans showed a lack of maturity by making noise during the silence

‘Awfully observed silence for the Pope by Arsenal there,’ another X user added.

One supporter even suggested the Emirates crowd had shown a lack of maturity and behaved like children.

‘Lots of wolf whistling during the moments silence for the late Pope. Nice of Arsenal to let the U12s in,’ they wrote.

Once the minute’s silence was completed, Arsenal made a nervy start to their first Champions League semi-final since 2009.

With former manager Arsene Wenger watching on from the stands, the Gunners fell behind inside four minutes as Ousmane Dembele fired home from the edge of the area.