'Scandalous!' - Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang joins Roberto De Zerbi in blasting referee after 10-man Marseille's feisty Champions League defeat to Sporting CP

The French side collapsed at the Estadio Jose Alvalade after being forced to play the entire second half with 10 men, squandering a 1-0 lead to suffer their second loss in the competition so far.

After taking an early lead through Igor Paixao, Marseille were in control of the match until first-half stoppage time, when the game’s defining controversy occurred. Defender Emerson Palmieri went down under a challenge inside the Sporting area, and referee Rade Obrenovic initially awarded a penalty before a VAR intervention saw the decision overturned. To compound Marseille's misery, Obrenovic then deemed Emerson guilty of diving and issued the defender a second yellow card. The dismissal, which followed an earlier "debatable" booking for handball, left the Marseille contingent incensed and paved the way for to Sporting complete their comeback with goals from Geny Catamo and Alisson Santos leaving.

With their European campaign now in a precarious position, a visibly frustrated Aubameyang did not hold back in his post-match assessment, blaming the officials for the defeat.

"It's complicated when you're made difficult," Aubameyang told Canal+. "The referees weren't up to scratch tonight. There was nothing for us. We dominated the match, we even scored the first goal. The first yellow card Emerson received was scandalous. He couldn't do anything with his hand."

The former Arsenal captain insisted the red card "completely changes the face of the match" and lamented the standard of officiating in Europe's elite competition.

"It was more complicated in the second half, we had to play deeper. They pushed and scored... We don't have the right to speak [to the referee], he speaks with the captain. It's scandalous. When you have a match with such stakes in the Champions League, having such referees is scandalous. It penalizes us, we had a good match... We are very angry, but now it's time for the championship."

De Zerbi echoed his striker's sentiments, making no attempt to hide his anger at the official's performance. The Italian coach stated the defeat felt different due to the circumstances.

"I didn’t like the refereeing at all," De Zerbi snapped in his post-match interview. "It wasn't made for this match, and with the red, the match changed. Those against Rennes or Lyon are a certain type of defeat. Today, it's something else. This one should give us even more pride and confidence in ourselves."

The defeat leaves Marseille 18th in the Champions League league phase, with just three points from their opening three matches. They must now switch their focus back to domestic duties for a Ligue 1 clash against Lens on Saturday.

De Zerbi's side are top of the French top flight with a one-point advantage over reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain, who visit 12th-placed Brest at the weekend. With Lens sitting fourth and unbeaten in their last four games, De Zerbi, Aubameyang and Co. have a tough test coming up.