Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere hit out at referee Phil Dowd in an angry tweet after his team threw away a 4-0 lead to draw at Newcastle.
“Inconsistent refereeing needs to stop, it’s killing the game,” said Wilshere, who later removed the message.
Arsenal’s Abou Diaby was sent off after reacting to a tackle with Joey Barton.
Gunners boss Arsene Wenger said Barton was lucky to stay on the pitch, but the Newcastle player pointed to Arsenal’s lack of discipline.
The Magpies trailed 4-0 at the break but Diaby was dismissed five minutes after the restart and the Gunners capitulated as the home team mounted a stunning fightback.
“[At half-time] I was thinking that I hope it does not get silly, double figures, but football is a funny game,” said Barton.
“[There was] a lack of discipline in their side, we got a goal and then the Geordie nation got behind us.
“Diaby had taken a bad touch and I had to try to win the ball. I don’t understand the guy’s reaction. He will probably kop a couple of weeks’ fine because it has probably cost them.”
And Newcastle manager Alan Pardew argued that Barton was entitled to challenge for the ball.
“You have got to make a challenge,” said the Toon boss.
“It was a proper, honest challenge – I have seen it two or three times and there’s nothing wrong with it.
“He goes for the ball, he wins the ball clean. He is aggressive in the challenge, he takes a little bit of the player after he has won the ball.”
But Wenger had a different interpretation, hinting that Barton was guilty of a dangerous tackle.
“It was a completely unnecessary sending-off, and I believe Barton was very lucky to stay on the pitch for the tackle on Diaby,” said the Gunners boss.
“It’s a shame [for Diaby] because he had a great first half. Sometimes you could understand when he has a bad game, but he had an outstanding game.
“I explain that by the fact that he has been injured so many times from bad tackles that he lost a bit quickly his nerves because this boy has been out for a long time and many times.
“Certainly the tackle provoked his reaction.”
Wilshere also took aim at referee Dowd for not sending off Newcastle skipper Kevin Nolan for an incident that followed the first of Barton’s two penalties.
Barton and Nolan both ran towards the Arsenal goal with the aim of collecting the ball and ensuring a quick restart.
But Arsenal keeper Wojciech Szczesny held the ball and refused to hand it over, prompting Nolan to try to wrestle it off him.
The Newcastle player appeared to have his hands around his opponent’s neck as he did so and Dowd booked both players after the incident.
“If Diaby is sent off, what’s the difference between that and Kevin Nolan’s challenge on our keeper??#joke,” added Wilshere in his tweet.
Wilshere could now face action from the Football Association for his comments.
Former Liverpool striker Ryan Babel was fined £10,000 by the FA in January after he tweeted a photo of referee Howard Webb in a Manchester United shirt following a 1-0 defeat for Kenny Dalglish’s team at Old Trafford.
Manchester United lost 2-1 at struggling Wolves later on Saturday – leaving Arsenal four points behind the leaders.
And Wilshere tweeted again after the United result, saying: “Very strange day. We are gutted like all of the AFC fans, but on the positive side we have a point and manu lost! Lets learn and move foward!”
Arsenal Manager, Arsene Wenger admitted that his team lost their composure after the break and said he did not know how costly his team’s failure to win the game would prove to be to their Premier League ambitions.
“Mathematically, two points; psychologically, the damage is a bit bigger because everybody is, of course, very, very disappointed in the dressing room,” said the Frenchman.
“Football is unpredictable sometimes and I felt that it became difficult at 4-1.
“Not at 4-0, we were quite comfortable. After, we panicked a little bit. I feel we were a little bit unlucky as well on some occasions but we have to take it on the chin and keep the positives from the game.
“It was a good game with a lot of intensity. There were many turning points, I feel of course the sending off was detrimental to us and the first penalty as well gave Newcastle hope.”
But the Gunners boss refused to comment on the two penalties awarded to Newcastle, stating: “My opinion is not important.”