Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has expressed deep frustration after a controversial VAR decision denied his side a late penalty in their 1-1 Champions League semi-final first-leg draw against Atlético Madrid, insisting the call “changed the course of the game” and went “against the rules”.
The Gunners had taken the lead through Viktor Gyökeres’ 44th-minute penalty before Atlético Madrid equalised 12 minutes later from the spot via Julián Álvarez. However, the major talking point came late in the match when Arsenal substitute Eberechi Eze went down under a challenge from Atlético defender Dávid Hancko inside the box.
Dutch referee Danny Makkelie initially pointed to the penalty spot but was advised to review the incident on the pitchside monitor by VAR official Dennis Higler. After several replays and sustained protests from Atlético manager Diego Simeone and his players, Makkelie overturned his original decision.
Arteta, speaking after the match, did not hide his anger at the reversal, insisting there was no justification for the intervention.
“What I’m incredibly fuming with is how the hell the penalty on Ebs [Eze] gets overturned in the manner that it happened when there is no clear and obvious error,” Arteta said.
“This changes the course of the game. And at this level, I’m sorry but this cannot happen.
“It was against the rules and I don’t understand it. There is clear contact. He makes the decision and you can’t overturn it when you have to watch it 13 times.
“When you have fought so hard for nine months to be in this position. I mean, that’s another goal that changed completely over the course of the tie. And it cannot happen. I’m sorry. We put so much on it. So, so, so much on it. This cannot happen.”
The Arsenal boss argued that the standard of officiating and VAR intervention undermined the integrity of a high-stakes European fixture, with his side left frustrated despite what he described as a strong overall performance.
Earlier in the match, Gyökeres had won Arsenal’s penalty after being brought down by Hancko, while Atlético’s equaliser came after Ben White was penalised for handball when the ball deflected onto his arm.
Atlético Madrid manager Diego Simeone, meanwhile, defended the decisions that went in his side’s favour but acknowledged the inconsistency surrounding VAR interventions.
“For the first penalty, in my humble opinion, it’s from the back, the player waits for the contact, it seems to me that in the Champions League semifinals it really needs to be a penalty,” Simeone said.
“And then the handball, it was given thanks to the VAR, and the second penalty wasn’t, thanks to the VAR. Sometimes VAR gives and sometimes it takes away.”
The 1-1 draw leaves the tie finely poised ahead of the return leg in London, where Arsenal will look to secure a place in their first Champions League final in 20 years.
Boluwatife Enome
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