“Illegal goal”. Did Arsenal deserve to be in the Champions League final?

Germany’s Kai Havertz’s goal against PSG for Arsenal sparked controversy in the first half of the Champions League final after one of the most popular refereeing accounts ruled the goal should have been disallowed for handball.

Havertz gave Arsenal the lead in the sixth minute after he seized possession in the box and slotted it into the net to give the London side the lead late in the game.

But the Archivó Far account, which specializes in the analysis of arbitration cases, on website X, confirmed that the goal raised a big question mark, noting that Leandro Trossard had a handball at the start of the attack.

The account explains that Trossard got his arm in front of Marquinhos’ attempt to deflect the ball, forcing it to Havertz, who scored the goal soon after.

The analysis showed that the crucial point in the case was the movement of Trosar’s hand towards the ball, which according to the interpretation of the laws of the game makes the touch non-spontaneous, and therefore a foul should have been called and the goal disallowed.

In addition to the arbitration dispute, Havertz went on to make history in the Champions League after becoming one of only three players to score in the tournament’s final with two different teams.

According to stats network Opta, the German star joins the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Mario Mandzukic after previously scoring against Manchester City in the 2021 final for Chelsea and scoring again against Arsenal in the current campaign’s final.

Havertz also became the third German player to score in two different Champions League finals, following Franz Ruth and Gerd Müller.

In turn, the Squawka network reported that Havertz became the third player to start the Champions League final with two different English clubs, after Frank Gray and Ashley Cole. He also became the first player ever to score for two different English teams in a European Championship final.

While the goal gave Arsenal an early lead on the scoreboard, the arbitration dispute over its legality could go on for a long time, especially after criticism was directed at the match referee’s decision and the video technology room after the goal was awarded.