Coach Arteta clearly expressed his displeasure over the penalty that Arsenal was denied by the referee - Photo: AP
The "big match" between Atletico and Arteta's team in the first leg of the 2025-2026 Champions League semi-final ended in a 1-1 draw, along with controversy surrounding the penalty decision.
Arsenal got off to a better start when, in the 44th minute, striker Viktor Gyokeres was fouled by David Hancko inside the penalty area.
From the penalty spot, the Swedish striker made no mistake to open the scoring 1-0 for the "Gunners".
The drama of the match reached its climax in the second half. In the 55th minute, the ball struck Ben White's hand after a volley from Marcos Llorente.
Although the ball appeared to have touched the Arsenal defender's foot before bouncing into his hand, under immense pressure from manager Diego Simeone and the home players, the referee upheld his decision to award Atletico a penalty after consulting VAR.
Coach Arteta completely agrees with this decision, believing that the referee followed the rules consistently.
However, the controversy lay in the final 10 minutes of the match. David Hancko once again fouled Eberechi Eze, and the referee immediately pointed to the penalty spot for Arsenal for the second time.
However, after strong protests from Atletico, the referee reviewed VAR and overturned the decision.
Speaking to TNT Sports after the match, manager Arteta expressed his displeasure at the disallowed penalty:
"There was clearly contact. The referee made the decision and it can't be reversed after reviewing it 13 times. This is against the rules and I don't understand why they did that," said manager Arteta.
When asked whether the referee was influenced by coach Simeone's reaction, the Spanish strategist simply replied: "I don't know, that's a question for him."
Despite only being able to leave Spain with a draw, the Arsenal manager remains optimistic. He believes that the home advantage at Emirates Stadium in the second leg on Wednesday morning (May 6th) will be key to Arsenal securing a place in the Champions League final.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/hlv-arteta-trong-tai-da-lam-trai-luat-20260430081857855.htm
Comment (0)