Jermaine Jenas admits he ‘got it wrong’ for hitting out at ‘sh**house’ referee during north London Derby as BBC pundit says that he ‘should know the impact words can have’… after calling for ‘no more abuse’ against officials in July

Jermaine Jenas has apologised for his controversial criticism of the officials during the 2-2 draw between Arsenal and his former club Tottenham on Sunday.

The ex-footballer turned BBC One Show presenter raged at Arsenal being awarded a penalty in the north London derby.

Spurs defender Cristian Romero was penalised for handball following the intervention of the Video Assistant Referee [VAR] after referee Rob Jones had initially waved away Arsenal’s appeals.

Bukayo Saka converted the spot-kick to put Arsenal 2-1 ahead and Jenas posted on X: ‘Complete sh**house off [sic] a referee! They’re all ruining the our [sic] game!’

Fans were quick to respond to Jenas, pointing out his hypocrisy after he was the face of the FA’s ‘Love Football, Protect the Game’ campaign just before the beginning of the season.

And the 40-year-old has now accepted that he was in the wrong.

Taking to Twitter on Monday, he wrote: ‘I hold my hands up, I got it wrong yesterday.

‘I should know, more than most, the responsibility we have as fans, players and pundits and the impact our words online can have as it’s an area I’ve been vocal in.

‘My emotions got the better of me and I apologise to The FA and to all match officials.’

The ‘Love Football, Protect the Game’ campaign was launched collectively by the FA, the Premier League, EFL, Women’s Super League, Women’s Championship, non-league steps 1-4 and referees’ body PGMOL.

Jenas posted this on social media in the aftermath, saying referees are ‘ruining our game’

Jermaine Jenas fronted a campaign ahead of the season calling for referees to be shown greater respect – but that didn’t stop him tweeting about ‘sh**house referees ruining the game’ during Sunday’s north London derby

In a launch video, Jenas says: ‘The emotions of the game get to us all. I know all about that.

‘But whether out on the pitch, in the stands or on the sidelines, we’ve all got to do better, at all levels.

‘No more surrounding refs, no more abuse, no more intimidation, no more discrimination.’

Jenas was also blasted by charity RefsupportUK after his comments on Sunday.

They wrote on X: ‘This is a disgraceful tweet and you should be ashamed. Your tweet encourages online abuse of referee and considering your role on TV your employers need to give their head a wobble.