Mikel Arteta said the decision to overturn a penalty awarded to Eberechi Eze was “completely unacceptable” after Arsenal were held to a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final against Atletico Madrid.
Substitute Eze was brought down in the box after being attacked by David Hancko in the 78th minute. There was foot-to-foot contact and the Gunners looked set to have a chance to take the lead again. But VAR intervened and advised referee Danny Makkelie to go to the monitor.
After watching several replays, Makkelie decided to rule out the penalty he awarded and finished the game ahead of Tuesday’s second leg at the Emirates Stadium.
David Hancko challenged Eberechi Eze but the initial penalty call was overturned.
Arteta was critical of the decision in an interview. TNT Sports Immediately after the game.
“After going back to the dressing room, speaking to the boys and watching the penalty incident, it was very disappointing and frustrating because it was against the rules and it changed the course of the tie,” he said. “I was very angry.
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David Ornstein of The Athletic wondered why Arsenal’s controversial second penalty was overturned by VAR.
“It’s the whole order. The contact is clear. Once you make a decision you don’t have to see it 13 times to overturn that decision. It’s completely unacceptable at this level.
“It’s a bad decision.”
Asked in his post-match press conference whether Arsenal would protest UEFA’s decision, Arteta said: “I leave it to the club to decide. Now they won’t give us a penalty, that’s all. That’s gone.”
This was a game defined by three penalties.
Arsenal took a spot-kick lead at half-time, with Victor Gyoceres scoring before Hanko got involved again, beating the striker in behind.
Atletico Madrid’s Hanko fouls Arsenal’s Victor Gyocerres.
But an improved Atlético leveled after Julian Alvarez broke through and VAR spotted Ben White’s handball on Marcos Llorente’s shot and sent referee Makeli to the monitor. A penalty kick was awarded despite the ball hitting White’s knee and into his hand.
Commenting on the decision, Arteta admitted that the interpretation of handball in the Champions League is different from the Premier League.
Arsenal’s Ben White was awarded a penalty kick for the handball after a VAR check.
“They’ve been consistent on that,” he said. “If you are going to be punished for something like this, you should accept it.”
The handball call against White followed an even more controversial decision to punish Alphonso Davies during Paris Saint-Germain’s semi-final win over Bayern Munich.
sky sports Posted by expert Jamie Carragher X UEFA says the definition of handball must be addressed in the Champions League.
“The Champions League is the best football, but these penalty decisions for handballs are really a stain on the competition. Last night was worse, but that shouldn’t be a penalty against White,” he said.
Arteta proud of Arsenal: ‘It’s in our hands’
Reflecting on the team’s overall performance in Madrid, Arteta said: “I told the players the way we’ve handled the situation over nine and a half months has been amazing. I’m really proud.
“I really value what they’ve done here because we’ve seen some of the best teams in the world fall apart and lose by threes and fours.
“We didn’t get the result we wanted, we wanted to win the game the way we planned. At least it’s in our hands and in front of our people.
“We want to get to the final and we’ll have the opportunity to do that in a week.”
