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Mikel Arteta called the decision to disallow Aberechi Eze’s penalty “completely unacceptable” after his Arsenal side drew 1-1 in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final with Atletico Madrid.
Substitute EJ entered the box after challenging David Hanko on 78 minutes. There was foot-to-foot contact and the Gunners looked poised to seize the opportunity to regain the lead. But VAR went ahead and advised referee Danny McKay to go to the monitor.
After watching multiple replays, ahead of the second leg at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday, McKay decided to disallow the penalty-kick he had awarded and the game ended.
David Hanko Eberechi challenges EJ – but the initial penalty call is overturned
Arteta gave a scathing assessment of the decision when speaking to him TNT Sports Immediately after the game.
“After going back to the dressing room, talking to the boys and seeing the penalty, it’s very disappointing and upsetting because it was against the rules and it changed the course of the tie,” he said. “I’m very, very upset.
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“The whole sequence. There’s clear communication. You make a decision, you can’t reverse that decision when you have to watch it 13 times. It’s totally unacceptable at this level.
“It’s the wrong decision.”
Asked at the post-match press conference whether Arsenal would protest UEFA’s decision, Arteta said: “I leave it to the club to do what’s best. Now they won’t give us a penalty. It’s done.”
It was a match defined by three penalties.
Arsenal took the lead at half-time through a spot-kick and won through Victor Gayocares, when Hanko got involved again, hooking the striker from behind.
Atletico Madrid’s Hanko fouls Arsenal’s Victor Giocares
But an improved Atletico equalized after the break through Julian Alvarez when VAR spotted a Ben White handball from Marcos Llorente’s shot and sent referee Mackay to the monitor. Despite White’s knee deflecting the ball against his hand, a penalty was awarded.
In that decision, Arteta acknowledged that the interpretation of handball in the Champions League is different from that in the Premier League.
Arsenal’s Ben White gives away a penalty for this handball – after a VAR check
“They were consistent with that,” he said. “If you’re going to pay a fine for this kind of thing, you have to accept it.”
The handball call against White followed a more controversial decision to penalize Alphonso Davies in Paris Saint-Germain’s win over Bayern Munich in the other semi-final.
Sky Sports Posted by Pandit Jamie Carragher X That being said, UEFA must resolve the definition of handball in the Champions League.
“The Champions League is the best football by a mile, but these penalty decisions for handball are really a stain on the competition. Last (night) was worse but it shouldn’t be a penalty against White,” he said.
Arteta ‘proud’ of Arsenal: ‘It’s in our hands’
Reflecting on his team’s overall performance in Madrid, Arteta said: “I’m very proud, I told the boys, the way we handled the situation for nine-and-a-half months, it’s fantastic.
“I really appreciate what they’ve done because I’ve seen some of the best teams in the world break away here and concede threes and fours.
“We didn’t get the result we wanted, and the way we planned to play, we wanted to win it. At least it’s in our hands, in front of our people.
“We want to be in that final and in a week we’re going to get the chance to do that.”
